After Jakob Ingebrigtsen's comment at World Indoors, Josh Kerr reveals worrying health update

British middle-distance runner Josh Kerr has revealed that he is battling form and fitness - a potential reason why he is not participating in the World Indoor Championships, which are being held from March 21-23 in China. Kerr shared a video of his training session and gym routine on Instagram and mentioned that he is looking to regain form and fitness. His Instagram update comes just hours after the Norwegian middle and long-distance runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen commented on Kerr's withdrawal.

Kerr is an accomplished runner, winning silver at the Paris Olympics in 2024 and bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Kerr won gold at the 2023 World Championships and is also the reigning champion of the World Indoor Championships in the 3000m, winning the gold medal in 2024. His rival, Ingebrigtsen, is considered one of the best runners in the world. The Norwegian won gold in the 1500m at Tokyo 2020 and aced the 5000m event at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

The pair have a renowned rivalry, frequently calling each other out. After his 1500m preliminary round, Ingebrigtsen was asked whether he was disappointed about the absence of his rivals (Josh Kerr, Cole Hocker, and Yared Nuguse among others) from the Paris Olympics, at the World Indoor Championships, to which he said:

"Aren't we all?" Ingebrigtsen said after his 1500m preliminary round while replying to a question from Letsrun.com

Notably, Kerr posted a video on his Instagram, showcasing his routine and training sessions. In the video, Kerr said:

"Yeah, I struggled a lot last week with my form and I wasn't running super efficiently. So, today [training session] was much better, was able to run more efficiently, the fitness has made a huge jump in one week, so feeling a lot more positive."

Danny Mackey, Brooks Beasts Track Club head coach also revealed that Kerr has been under the weather lately.

"Well, he's been sick so we are kind of testing things out a little bit today," Mackey said in the same video.

Kerr is set to focus on the Grand Slam Track which will be held between 4-6 April in Jamaica.

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The history behind Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen's rivalry

Josh Kerr (L) and Jakob Ingebrigtsen (R) (Image via Getty)

Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Britain's Josh Kerr have had a long-standing rivalry. The rivalry stems from Ingebrigtsen commenting on Kerr's childhood friend, Jake Wightman, who beat Ingebrigtsen at the World Athletic Championships in 2022. Ingebrigsten called Wightman a lesser athlete, which stung Kerr. The rivalry intensified after Kerr beat Ingebrigtsen at the World Championship in Budapest in 2023.

While Josh Kerr is missing out on the World Indoor Championships this year, it will be intriguing to see how the two (Kerr and Ingebrigtsen) match up in their next face-off. The two have raced 15 times over 1500m since the World Under-20 Championships in 2016. Ingebrigtsen has had the best of 12 of the meetings since.