Josh Kerr limps over finish line after pulling up injured in World Championship 1500m final

Kerr’s hopes of emulating Seb Coe with back-to-back World Championship gold were ended by injury but the Scot battled on to complete the race

Josh Kerr limped over the finish line after injury forced the Scot to pull up in the 1500m final (Reuters)

Josh Kerr bravely limped over the finish line at the World Athletics Championships after his 1500m defence ended in heartbreak and he was forced to pull up injured in the final.

The 27-year-old Scot appeared to pick up a painful leg injury with 600m remaining, with Kerr dropping to the back of the field and struggling to put his weight down on one side.

Kerr was bidding to retain the 1500m title won in Budapest two years ago, but could only watch as Portugal's Isaac Nader pipped fellow Scot and 2022 world champion Jake Wightman to gold.

Kerr bravely completed the race despite pulling up injured (Martin Rickett/PA)

Kerr, however, did not quit from the race and remarkably finished the final. He crossed the line in dead last, with his final time of 4:11.23 approximately 37 seconds behind Nader.

Kerr’s injury was initially reported to be a right calf injury, with the BBC reporting that Kerr was in so much pain after the race in Tokyo that he could not climb the stairs from the track to the flash interview area.

The Olympic silver medallist was pictured holding his right leg following the race, as well as interacting with runner-up Wightman and Neil Gourley, who finished 10th.

Wightman, 31, collapsed onto his back after completing a brilliant return from injury to claim a second World Championship medal three years on from his 1500m triumph in Eugene.

Kerr congratulated his fellow Scot Wightman, who won silver (Getty Images)

Kerr holds his right leg after pulling up injured in the final (REUTERS)

The Scot took the lead over favourite Niels Laros, of the Netherlands, with 200m remaining, only for Portuguese athlete Nader to pip him on the line by two hundredths of a second in 3mins 34.10secs.

"That [coming back to a major final] has always kept me going,” a thrilled Wightman told BBC Sport after finishing ahead of Kenya’s Reynold Cheruiyot, who won bronze.

“I still thought I had something like this in me. All I knew today is I wanted to try and win, whether that got me the win, second, third, however high up, I would be happy to walk away with it.”