The British middle distance duo will compete against each other indoors for the first time in New York City on February 1.
Jake Wightman and Josh Kerr are part of a world-class two-mile lineup at this year’s Millrose Games in New York City.
It is the first time the 2022 and 2023 world champions have met in an indoor environment, having raced on track, road and cross country.
Wightman, who will make his Millrose Games debut, has never run more than two miles before, indoors or outdoors. However, he has a personal best of 7:37.81 for 3000 m.
This won’t be Kerr’s first appearance at the meet, as she set a two-mile world record of 8:00.67 in the 2024 edition.
The last time the pair met was in the 1,500m final at the World Athletics Championships, with Wightman narrowly missing out on gold to Portugal’s Isaac Nader. Meanwhile, Kerr suffered a right calf injury but still had to limp home to cross the finish line in Tokyo.
Wightman and Kerr raced for Edinburgh AC as juniors, but their first race together was 10 years ago, the duo battling it out in the Scottish Inter-District Championships during the Great Edinburgh Cross Country International.
Since then, they have competed together in countless track races, including the Olympics and world championships. The pair have also clashed on the roads of New York’s Fifth Avenue.
While there is significant British interest in the two-mile race at the Millrose Games, Wightman and Kerr are just two of many world-class athletes in the event.
For starters, the prestigious field also includes Grant Fisher and Cole Hocker.
Fisher, an Olympic bronze medalist in the 5,000m and 10,000m from Paris, holds the world indoor record for the 3,000m (7:22.91) and 5,000m (12:44.09), having beaten Hocker in the 3,000m at last year’s Millrose Games.
In the 2024 edition, where Kerr set a two-mile indoor record, Fisher placed second behind the Briton in 8:03.62, placing the American athlete third on the all-time indoor track list.
Hocker, the reigning Olympic 1,500-meter and world 5,000-meter champion, was third in that race two years ago in 8:05.70, putting him sixth on the all-time indoor list.
Other athletes to watch out for include world 3,000m hurdles champion George Beamish, Ethan Strand and Ky Robinson. The rest of the lineup includes Graham Blanks, Drew Hunter, Edwin Kurgat, Cooper Teare and Parker Wolfe.
