March 22 (Reuters) - Britain’s Josh Kerr regained the 3,000 metres title at the World Indoor Championships in Poland on Saturday, taking Britain’s first medal of the tournament as he surged past American Cole Hocker and France’s Yann Schrub in the final metres to win in 7:35.56.
Kerr, who was beaten by Hocker in the 1,500m at the Paris Olympics, was racing for only the second time since a calf injury suffered during his world 1,500m title defence in Tokyo last September.
He stayed patient early on in fifth before moving into third with two laps remaining as he tracked Ethiopia’s Addisu Yihune and Getnet Wale. He hit the front at the bell to force the pace, and although Schrub and Hocker closed late, neither could reel him in.
“This race didn't go the way I wanted it to go, but racing is all about dealing with the situations you are put in," said Kerr, who won the 3,000m title two years ago in Glasgow.
"I shouldn't worry much about the mistakes in the race, although there were a lot of them today.
"I thought I would be at the top of the sport for a long time, but after missing a couple of opportunities that I wanted, I am really going to enjoy this gold."
RECORDS BROKEN ON DAY 2
On a record-breaking second day, American Simon Ehammer reclaimed his heptathlon crown with 6,670 points, breaking a 14-year world record after clocking a heptathlon best of 7.52 in the 60 metres hurdles.
“I wanted to improve the European record, but it was difficult to imagine the world record as well,” he said.
Canada’s Christopher Morales Williams secured his first global title by lowering the championship 400 metres record to 44.76 to beat American Khaleb McRae, while Olympic champion Mondo Duplantis of Sweden raised his own championship pole vault record to 6.25 metres to win a fourth straight title.
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)
