Prize guy Kerr targets more success in 2022
SCOTTISH star Josh Kerr has vowed to chase even more glory in 2021 after he was named as the British Male Athlete of the Year.
The Olympic 1500 metres bronze medallist smashed his personal best by more than two seconds in Tokyo to become the second-quickest Brit of all time over the distance after Mo Farah.
It propelled the 24-year-old from Edinburgh into the spotlight and he claimed the top prize ahead of Elliot Giles and Andrew Pozzi in the annual awards organised by the British Athletics Writers’ Association.
And Kerr will now turn his attention to a possible treble next summer with world and European Championships, plus the Commonwealth Games.
He said: “I had a fantastic time out in Tokyo grabbing a medal for Team GB. So this means a lot to myself, my family and my team. I’ll take this one forward and hopefully make next year a great year as well.”
Keely Hodgkinson was named British Female Athlete of the Year after winning a brilliant 800 metres silver in Tokyo, one which saw the 19-year-old destroy Kelly Holmes’s UK record just months after her breakthrough gold at the European Indoors.
“I think the female athletes in our sport this year have been incredible,” said Hodgkinson, who beat out fellow medallists Laura Muir and Holly Bradshaw.
T38 Paralympic 100m champion Thomas Young was named Male Para Athlete of the Year while Hannah Cockroft claimed the Female award after earning her sixth and seventh Paralympic gold medals.
The Ron Pickering Memorial Award for Services to Athletics was given to statistician Mark Butler, who has worked in the sport for more than 35 years.