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Throughout Josh Kerr\u2019s year of \u00adwonder, he has made the sublime look routine. So when the bell rang for the final lap of this men\u2019s Ultimate Championship 1500m final, with the Scot in third and closing fast on the leader Yared Nuguse, the next 53 \u00adseconds seemed preordained.<\/p>\n
Kerr first sauntered past \u00adRobert Farken into second. Then, with 250m remaining, he scootered past Nuguse. The 20-year-old Australian star Cam\u00a0Myers tried to join the chase but he could not make a dent as Kerr protected a substantial lead to the \u00adfinish.<\/p>\n As Kerr crossed the line in 3min 29.35sec, with Myers 0.33sec back, he cupped his hand to his ear. The sound he was hearing? The adoration of the crowd \u2013 and the kerching of the $150,000 (\u00a3111,000) first prize<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest, I didn\u2019t feel \u00adamazing in the warmup,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cBut these are the things you have to overcome. I knew I was going to be in with a shot. It was a case of not overpressing too early and leaving a couple of gears for the last lap.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about Myers, Kerr said: \u201cHe\u2019s an awesome athlete but I was able to peek over the screen and see that the gap wasn\u2019t changing. I pressed it again at 120m, and then the gap didn\u2019t change, and I knew that at that point I had it.\u201d<\/p>\n Kerr was 8-1 for a place in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award on Sunday morning, which feels a little high given his awesome season. He has raced just twice indoors and six times outdoors. Yet he\u00a0has broken the world mile record, set a personal best over 800m, won gold at the world indoor championships over 3,000m and the \u00adCommonwealth Games over 1500m, and now taken the Ultimate \u00adChampionship trophy.<\/p>\n True, some would prefer him to race more. But it is hard to argue with Kerr\u2019s decision to put quality over quantity.<\/p>\n While Kerr\u2019s run was impressive, the performance of the night came from the American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in the women\u2019s 200m. Up against the 200m Olympic champion Gabby Thomas, Jefferson-Wooden ran 21.51 \u2013 the fourth-fastest time in history \u2013 into a -0.6 m\/s headwind to triumph with Thomas second in 21.77. Britain\u2019s Amy Hunt was fourth in a season\u2019s best 22.10.<\/p>\n On the final day of the inaugural World Athletics<\/a> Ultimate Champion\u00adship event, which have blended innovation and a big prize fund of $10m, there were spectacular \u00addisplays wherever you looked.<\/p>\n Earlier, the new 400m hurdles world champion Alison Dos Santos ran the third fastest time in history, 45.98, against Rai Benjamin and Karsten Warholm. Incredibly, the trio now hold the fastest 38 times in history. \u201cWhat we are doing is so important and so impressive that people sometimes take it for granted,\u201d \u00adBenjamin said. \u201cKarsten led the way to the world record, Alison followed up on it and this was an amazing performance from all three of us today.\u201d<\/p>\n
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