Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen set for Budapest showdown after Ultimate Championships invites

World mile record-holder Josh Kerr and his Norwegian arch-rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen are set for a 1500m showdown after both received exceptional invitations to September’s inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest.

The last time the men raced over 1500m was in September 2024 in Zurich. Ingebrigtsen recently returned from an 11-month layoff to win the 5,000m at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, where he called out Kerr’s absence.

Kerr said: “I’ve made some choices this season that have created plenty of noise, but I’ve always wanted to prove myself in the biggest races, against the best in the world. Budapest gives me another opportunity to do that, and I’m coming to compete for the win.”

The pair will join a field that also includes reigning Olympic champion Cole Hocker, who stunned Kerr and Ingebrigtsen at Paris 2024, and Isaac Nader, who won gold at the World Championships last year.

A World Athletics statement read: “While exceptional invitations are otherwise capped at one per discipline for the inaugural edition of the global championship, the board determined this race could not in good faith be considered a full line-up of the greatest athletes on the planet without the inclusion of both Kerr and Ingebrigtsen.”

World and Olympic gold medallist Gianmarco Tamberi has also been confirmed to compete in the men’s high jump.

PA