Ella Scott
Josh Kerr is rarely seen racing without a pair of sunnies and the Team GB star claims his signature look serves one primary purpose.
Yesterday (6 August), Scottish middle-distance runner Kerr, 26, picked up a silver medal in the Men’s Olympic 1500m race.
He clocked a time of 3:27.79 but was bested by Team USA’s Cole Hocker, 23, who set an Olympic Record with a 3:27.65 finish.
Kerr, who was determined to improve on his 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze, admitted in a track-side interview that he’d initially set his sights on a gold medal.
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However, he maintained pride in his performance before completing a lap of honour, brandishing a Union Jack flag.
Of course, Kerr completed the 1500m dash wearing a pair of signature, reflective Oakley sunglasses.
The distinctive accessory is one the athlete is rarely seen racing without and he’s previously revealed the reason why.
Speaking to BBC Sport last month, the Edinburgh native claimed sunglasses give him a mental edge over his opponents.
“I think, with the sunglasses, it definitely lets me stand out,” he explained in a YouTube video.
“When the glasses go on, it’s game time. In the World Championships last year, I was wearing the darker sunglasses before heading out, so you couldn’t see my eyes.
“I chucked them on in the call room, I was just looking around, seeing what people were doing and no one knew where I was looking, so people were getting a little bit peeved off at me.
“They were asking, ‘Are you looking at me?’ I was like, ‘Maybe I am, maybe I’m not’, but it’ll rile some people up.”
He added that he is always going to be himself on race day and that he wasn’t ‘too worried’ about anyone else’s perceptions of him.
Following Kerr’s silver-medal race he was asked about his long-standing spat with Norwegian racer Jakob Ingebrigtsen, 23.
The pair have been embroiled in a war of words for some time and their rivalry only intensified at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Hungary.
At the time, Ingebrigtsen claimed he’d lost to Kerr at the Worlds due to illness and previously stated he could beat his opponent ‘blindfolded’.
“Over the years there has been a bit of back and forth,” the University of New Mexico alumn told Eurosport. “I felt a little bit disrespected last year after my first world title.
“There is something about someone saying they are not 100 per cent when you go out and get your first world title that makes it sting a bit.”
However, after coming in fourth place in the Men’s 1500m with a time of 3:28.24, Ingebrigtsen was humble in defeat.
Taking to Instagram, he wrote: “Well, I guess he did show up after all…,” referring to Kerr.
"Hocker and Nuguse as well. My team always say that 'because you have a big mouth and is the one to beat, you have everything to lose in competitions. Today, Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse and Josh Kerr outsmarted me.”
He added that the podium finishers had been the ‘best guys’ in the field and that he wanted to ‘congratulate them all on a great performance’.