Josh Kerr explains why he taunted rival with ‘night night’ celebration after landing 3000m gold

Josh Kerr insisted there was no malice in his celebration aimed at USA rival Cole Hocker.

Britain’s Kerr regained his 3,000m title at the World Indoor Championships in Poland on Saturday.

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He surged past Hocker and France’s Yann Schrub in the final metres to win in 7:35.56.

The 28-year-old was quick to twist the knife as he used NBA star Steph Curry’s famous ‘night night’ celebration by putting both hands against his cheek.

His American rival had made the same gesture after beating Kerr at the Millrose Games in February.

Hocker had beaten Kerr to the 1500m title at the Paris Olympics as their rivalry keeps growing.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Kerr said: “There’s never malice in anything. It’s a bit of fun. It’s a bit of personality.

“Obviously coming off a tough end of the season last year where I was on crutches and then working my way back to where I was for that two mile in February.

“Then getting that celebration put on me was just the exact fuel that I needed for my fire with a six week build coming into a World Championship. 

“Definitely spur of the moment and just kind of showing that it was a big, big thing that was putting me through my steps in the last six weeks or so.”

Kerr was racing for just the second time since suffering a calf injury during his world 1500m title defence in Tokyo last September.

He continued: “There were definitely a lot of demons to get over. A lot of random stuff cropping up mentally, going through warm up and going through everything after dealing with all the stuff that was happening in Tokyo. 

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“It’s good to be back and not having any issues, but just going through that mental warfare that is last time you were out there with some bad juju. 

“It was fun to deal with those demons and get past those. Now I can focus on the big things coming up this year and some big home championships and some big races too. 

“This one was a huge stepping stone and massive in my career to get back to where I want to be on top.”

On winning the gold, Kerr added: “It feels awesome. It’s lovely to be on this side of it.

“I really enjoy the process of it all. But after being titleless for two years, it’s nice to get one back and get back on that journey to stay at the top.

“I think that’s the pursuit I really enjoy and to show myself and everyone around me, coaching staff, everyone that we’re doing the right things is a good confidence boost going into a big summer.”