Latest news with #Kerr
The Herald Scotland
10 hours ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Josh Kerr: Getting to the top is the easy part, staying there is tough
While retaining his place at the top of the men's 1500m tree is far from easy, Kerr is as well-equipped as anyone to manage it. There are few better examples of Kerr's ability to live up to both the hype and the pressure than his last outing; earlier this month, at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia, the Scot was in a lowly sixth place with just 200m of the 1500m to go. Twenty seconds later, he'd won the race, beating the Olympic champion in the process. It was a performance that illustrated Kerr's desire, desperation even, to continue improving year-on-year, which is not always easy when the standard you've set is being the best 1500m runner on the planet. 'For sure, it's easier to get to the top than stay at the top,' Kerr says. 'When you're trying to get to the top, you can take multiple attempts whereas when you're trying to stay at the top, every person on the planet is gunning for you every single race. 'Getting to the top, you're exploring what works for you, and to stay at the top, you have to keep adapting and get the balance right. 'I've learned so much over the past three years and now, I've got a real wealth of knowledge about what works for me and what doesn't. Each year, I up my level of professionalism and improve the way I live my life, the way I train and the way I race.' 'I've built off last year and I feel the strongest I've ever been. I'm working on my speed now so I think it's going to end up with some pretty awesome performances.' (Image: Getty Images) The 27-year-old from Edinburgh has evolved into one of the faces of track and field. His world 1500m title in 2023, which was bookended by Olympic bronze and Olympic silver in 2021 and 2024 is, to date, the high point of Kerr's career and kick-started a rivalry with the Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen which brought an audience to the sport whose attention had been captured by the back-and-forth between the pair. Both Kerr and Ingebrigtsen, however, failed to become Olympic champion last summer with American Cole Hocker producing one of the upsets of Paris to claim the 1500m title. Given Kerr had begun last year stating explicitly that his aim was to become Olympic champion, his Olympic silver was, on paper, a failure. But a personal best time and a British record in the Olympic final softened the blow somewhat and over the months that followed Paris 2024, Kerr came to accept that he's not always going to be able to live up to the standards he sets himself. And he hasn't, perhaps surprisingly, used that defeat in the Olympic final as motivation for this season. 'Olympic silver produces very mixed emotions,' he says. 'I've shown up every year for the last six years and run either a season's best or a personal best in major championships finals and that's the best I can do. I have no control over what anyone else does. 'Yes, if I don't win, I'm not happy with how my year went. That's a pretty tough standard to meet and it's one I'm not going to meet every year because I'm a human being. 'When you set those standards, you have to be strict with yourself but I love what I do and if I wasn't getting paid to do it, I would still do it because I'm so curious to see how far I can push my body and see if I can keep putting on these performances in high-pressure environments.' (Image: Getty Images) Kerr has raced six times so far this year, all of which have been at Grand Slam Track meets. The new venture, set up by Olympic running great, Michael Johnson, was developed with the aim of revitalising athletics and bringing it to a new, wider audience. Kerr has been one of the most prominent faces in Grand Slam Track this season and on the track, the Scot certainly lived up his billing, winning his first Grand Slam Track title at the second meet in Miami last month with impressive performances over both 1500m and 800m (and taking home $100,000 as a result) while at the most recent meet in Philadelphia, Kerr produced one of the most thrilling performances of the weekend with his aforementioned surge from sixth place to first in the 1500m. This race in particular highlighted one of the major selling points of Grand Slam Track which is that athletes will be racing to beat each other rather than merely chasing fast times, which is what, to it's detriment, the sport has widely focused upon in recent years. Grand Slam Track has lofty aspirations to change the face of athletics and while not all of the initial aims have been fulfilled, Kerr retains the belief that it's been, and will continue to be, a very good thing for the sport. 'The first meet was the first meet. We weren't sure how it was going to go and in some respects, the organisers wanted it to be the Super Bowl but that's very hard to do,' he says. 'What was so awesome about it, though, is that it was continually being tweaked to make it better. And as athletes, we had an awesome time. We got treated like professionals and we raced against the best athletes in the world, which I really liked. 'Recently, we've been running time trials a lot and I wouldn't say that becomes boring but it is very difficult physically and mentally to keep running like that. In the 1500m at Grand Slam Track, we provided some really great entertainment and that's what people like watching. 'So I feel like Grand Slam track is on a really good trajectory, and I'm excited to see how it looks next season.' A sizeable bump in the road for Grand Slam Track has been the cancellation of the fourth and final meet, which had been scheduled for next weekend in LA. It is, says founder Michael Johnson, a 'business decision' and while many have used the meet's cancellation as a stick with which to beat the project, Kerr feels none of that pessimism. 'There's always going to be positives and negatives at the start of every new venture and Grand Slam track is just trying to find its way. And actually, I think dropping LA this season is the right decision,' he says. 'It's easy for audiences to sit and critique but I feel like Grand Slam Track was good because it was improving with each meet. 'There's always going to be some negatives around a decision like the one to cancel LA but, at the end of the day, they want to put on the best track meets in the world and elevate the sport, which can only be a good thing.' The cancellation of next week's event means Kerr's competitive appearances will be sparse between now and the World Championships in Tokyo in September, at which he'll be defending his world 1500m title. On his schedule between now and his world title defence is only the London Athletics Meet next month and the British Championships in August. This will, he is confident, ensure he's in the best possible shape both physically and mentally when he arrives in Tokyo later in the season. 'The year is planned out to make sure I'm at my best for Tokyo and that's all on track,' he says. 'My sessions are coming together and everything else is coming together too so I can't complain with where I'm at. Things are going to plan as of right now and the aim is absolutely to retain my world title.'
The National
10 hours ago
- Sport
- The National
Josh Kerr: Getting to the top is the easy part, staying there is tough
What's considerably harder, he's finding out, is staying there. While retaining his place at the top of the men's 1500m tree is far from easy, Kerr is as well-equipped as anyone to manage it. There are few better examples of Kerr's ability to live up to both the hype and the pressure than his last outing; earlier this month, at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia, the Scot was in a lowly sixth place with just 200m of the 1500m to go. Twenty seconds later, he'd won the race, beating the Olympic champion in the process. It was a performance that illustrated Kerr's desire, desperation even, to continue improving year-on-year, which is not always easy when the standard you've set is being the best 1500m runner on the planet. 'For sure, it's easier to get to the top than stay at the top,' Kerr says. 'When you're trying to get to the top, you can take multiple attempts whereas when you're trying to stay at the top, every person on the planet is gunning for you every single race. 'Getting to the top, you're exploring what works for you, and to stay at the top, you have to keep adapting and get the balance right. 'I've learned so much over the past three years and now, I've got a real wealth of knowledge about what works for me and what doesn't. Each year, I up my level of professionalism and improve the way I live my life, the way I train and the way I race.' 'I've built off last year and I feel the strongest I've ever been. I'm working on my speed now so I think it's going to end up with some pretty awesome performances.' (Image: Getty Images) The 27-year-old from Edinburgh has evolved into one of the faces of track and field. His world 1500m title in 2023, which was bookended by Olympic bronze and Olympic silver in 2021 and 2024 is, to date, the high point of Kerr's career and kick-started a rivalry with the Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen which brought an audience to the sport whose attention had been captured by the back-and-forth between the pair. Both Kerr and Ingebrigtsen, however, failed to become Olympic champion last summer with American Cole Hocker producing one of the upsets of Paris to claim the 1500m title. Given Kerr had begun last year stating explicitly that his aim was to become Olympic champion, his Olympic silver was, on paper, a failure. But a personal best time and a British record in the Olympic final softened the blow somewhat and over the months that followed Paris 2024, Kerr came to accept that he's not always going to be able to live up to the standards he sets himself. And he hasn't, perhaps surprisingly, used that defeat in the Olympic final as motivation for this season. 'Olympic silver produces very mixed emotions,' he says. 'I've shown up every year for the last six years and run either a season's best or a personal best in major championships finals and that's the best I can do. I have no control over what anyone else does. 'Yes, if I don't win, I'm not happy with how my year went. That's a pretty tough standard to meet and it's one I'm not going to meet every year because I'm a human being. 'When you set those standards, you have to be strict with yourself but I love what I do and if I wasn't getting paid to do it, I would still do it because I'm so curious to see how far I can push my body and see if I can keep putting on these performances in high-pressure environments.' (Image: Getty Images) Kerr has raced six times so far this year, all of which have been at Grand Slam Track meets. The new venture, set up by Olympic running great, Michael Johnson, was developed with the aim of revitalising athletics and bringing it to a new, wider audience. Kerr has been one of the most prominent faces in Grand Slam Track this season and on the track, the Scot certainly lived up his billing, winning his first Grand Slam Track title at the second meet in Miami last month with impressive performances over both 1500m and 800m (and taking home $100,000 as a result) while at the most recent meet in Philadelphia, Kerr produced one of the most thrilling performances of the weekend with his aforementioned surge from sixth place to first in the 1500m. This race in particular highlighted one of the major selling points of Grand Slam Track which is that athletes will be racing to beat each other rather than merely chasing fast times, which is what, to it's detriment, the sport has widely focused upon in recent years. Grand Slam Track has lofty aspirations to change the face of athletics and while not all of the initial aims have been fulfilled, Kerr retains the belief that it's been, and will continue to be, a very good thing for the sport. 'The first meet was the first meet. We weren't sure how it was going to go and in some respects, the organisers wanted it to be the Super Bowl but that's very hard to do,' he says. 'What was so awesome about it, though, is that it was continually being tweaked to make it better. And as athletes, we had an awesome time. We got treated like professionals and we raced against the best athletes in the world, which I really liked. 'Recently, we've been running time trials a lot and I wouldn't say that becomes boring but it is very difficult physically and mentally to keep running like that. In the 1500m at Grand Slam Track, we provided some really great entertainment and that's what people like watching. 'So I feel like Grand Slam track is on a really good trajectory, and I'm excited to see how it looks next season.' A sizeable bump in the road for Grand Slam Track has been the cancellation of the fourth and final meet, which had been scheduled for next weekend in LA. It is, says founder Michael Johnson, a 'business decision' and while many have used the meet's cancellation as a stick with which to beat the project, Kerr feels none of that pessimism. 'There's always going to be positives and negatives at the start of every new venture and Grand Slam track is just trying to find its way. And actually, I think dropping LA this season is the right decision,' he says. 'It's easy for audiences to sit and critique but I feel like Grand Slam Track was good because it was improving with each meet. 'There's always going to be some negatives around a decision like the one to cancel LA but, at the end of the day, they want to put on the best track meets in the world and elevate the sport, which can only be a good thing.' The cancellation of next week's event means Kerr's competitive appearances will be sparse between now and the World Championships in Tokyo in September, at which he'll be defending his world 1500m title. On his schedule between now and his world title defence is only the London Athletics Meet next month and the British Championships in August. This will, he is confident, ensure he's in the best possible shape both physically and mentally when he arrives in Tokyo later in the season. 'The year is planned out to make sure I'm at my best for Tokyo and that's all on track,' he says. 'My sessions are coming together and everything else is coming together too so I can't complain with where I'm at. Things are going to plan as of right now and the aim is absolutely to retain my world title.'
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Simple Minds on 40 Years of ‘Don't You (Forget About Me)' & Their Friendship, Despite the Occasional ‘Screaming Match'
Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill have been playing music together for some 48 years, most of them in Simple Minds. Kerr assures us that familiarity has bred fondness; he even says the 'parallel story' in the band's 2023 documentary Everything Is Possible is 'the friendship of Charlie and I, which is quite remarkable because usually in long-working relationships in music people hate each other after 20 years. But Charlie and I still go on. There's a great friendship there.' Despite that, Kerr tells Billboard that it's not always a lovefest between frontman and guitarist, either, as Simple Minds is in the midst of its first full-scale North American tour in seven years. 'We're still able to have our rows and our fights. We're not always on the same page,' Kerr acknowledges, adding with a laugh that, 'We had a screaming match last week and everyone around us…. First of all they said, 'I've never heard such a f–kin' intense screaming match,' so afterwards Charlie and I felt embarrassed. Y'know, usually it's not even (about) a thing. You're not on the same page, and it's frustrating. Someone will just say the wrong word, and it triggers. More from Billboard Rachel Zegler Serenades Crowd Outside Theater for Free in a New London Production of 'Evita' Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis to Receive Vanguard Award at The Guitar Center Music Foundation Gala & Benefit Concert Shakira Announces Two More Dates in Mexico, Extending Record to 28 'But here's the good news; at the end of the day there's no scars, no wounds. We get up the next day and everything is fine. How amazing that we're still so passionate about it. How amazing that we still care. How amazing we're in the rehearsal room, trying to make it as great as it can be for our audience, and how amazing the next day we go to breakfast with each other.' During its current trek, whose U.S. leg wraps up Saturday (June 22 in Noblesville, Ind.), Kerr, Churchill and the latest incarnation of Simple Minds have been supporting their new concert album — Live in the City of Diamonds, which came out in April — and the 40th anniversary of an eventful 1985 that included: the Billboard Hot 100-topping single 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' from the hit film The Breakfast Club; a performance at Live Aid that summer; and the band's best-selling studio album, Once Upon a Time, which came out that fall. 'It was beautiful,' Kerr recalls. 'It was so unexpected in a sense. You had the movie, you had the song, Live Aid, MTV, 'Alive & Kicking' [a No. 3 Hot 100 hit], the Once Upon a Time album itself…and lo and behold, 40 years later we're still here talking about it. That's what 1985 felt like to us.' Simple Minds was famously ambivalent about recording 'Don't You (Forget About Me),' which was written by producer Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff for the John Hughes-directed film. The group had already planned to make an aggressive assault on the U.S. market in the wake of its 1984 album Sparkle in the Rain and was confident 'we had songs up our sleeve' for what would become Once Upon a Time. 'Then out of nowhere these phone calls start to come in about this movie, and the record company thinks it would be a good thing to bridge to the next album,' Kerr recalls. 'We were like, 'Yeah, we want to do it,' then 'Oh, hang on a minute. They want us to record someone else's song? That's not what we do; we're credible artists. We write our own songs, and we've got some good ones in the pipeline, so we're not sure about that.' But after meeting the people involved we decided to do it.' The key, Kerr adds, was that his band found a way to make the song its own. 'I'm not taking anything away from the song and Keith and the guys who came up with the music. You can find the demo of the song online; it's a good little song. But Simple Minds, what we brought to it was 10 years of playing live, and we put our heart and soul into it and we put our lifeblood into the record. It would've been a different song if OMD did it, or the Psychedelic Furs — it would've been a different record, rather. So it's not our song, but it is our record.' Simple Minds will follow the North American tour with a jaunt through Europe, starting June 27 at home in Glasgow, where the band plans to play Once Upon a Time in its entirety. That trek wraps up July 27 in Italy, after which Simple Minds plans to return to working on a new studio album — the follow-up to 2022's Direction of the Heart — which Kerr, Burchill and company began working on before hitting the road. 'We've got a whole bunch of songs up our sleeves,' Kerr says. 'They're not finished yet, but the backing tracks are down, the rough mixes. So we're excited. People might say, 'What's the impetus?' because obviously records don't sell like they used to and there's a limited appeal for new stuff no matter whether you're Bruce Springsteen or whoever you are. But this is who we are. This is what we do. It just goes on. It's all about creativity and you have it in you and you've got to get it out. That's the same now as it's ever been, and for us every time you do something new you're still using those muscles. It's like a chapter to a book; it seems to refresh the rest of the story and stops you from calcifying.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Glasgow to introduce new tourist tax that's almost £5 a night – but locals won't be happy
Read on to see who has to pay the tax CASHING IN Glasgow to introduce new tourist tax that's almost £5 a night – but locals won't be happy GLASGOW City Council is set to introduce a new tourist tax at around £5 per night - but locals won't be happy. The visitor levy will be brought in from January 25, 2027 and will see people pay five per cent of the cost of a hotel room, B&B, AirBnB or hostels per night. Advertisement 3 Visitors staying in Glasgow will be hit with a five per cent tax on their accommodation per night Credit: Getty 3 It is expected to raise around £16million each year for the city Credit: Alamy It is expected to bring in around £16million each year for the city as visitors are set to be charged £4.83 on average. The money raised will be spent on public services, like street sweeping, investing in city landmarks, and improvements to parks, to improve the city for residents and visitors alike. Councillors approved the levy at the city administration committee yesterday morning. The tax will be in place for anyone staying at a hotel in the city - and this includes locals with a Glasgow postcode. Advertisement Speaking out against the tax following the decision was Reform councillor Thomas Kerr. The party also hit out on social media saying: "Glasgow City Council approves tourist tax - even for locals!" Mr Kerr added on X: "I've never believed a tourist tax was the right policy for Glasgow. "This tax risks pricing out families, hurting local B&Bs and deterring much‑needed tourism just as our city recovers. Advertisement "The council is skint, but penalising guests isn't the answer." Hitting back at Reform's comments, Scottish Labour's MSP fro Glasgow Paul Sweeney said: "I have only ever stayed overnight in a hotel in Glasgow once - it was for an assessment centre for the BAE graduate scheme. I didn't pay for it. Moment hardcore anti tourist mob surround Brit tourists in Majorca chanting 'go home' & telling Brit ex-pats to 'go to hell' "How many Glaswegians are staying over at a hotel in the city they live in? A completely ridiculous argument." Scottish Greens MSP for Glasgow, Patrick Harvie said: "Glasgow is a global city, drawing visitors from all over the world. Advertisement "But we have seen how over-tourism can damage communities, like in Venice and Barcelona, where the residents end up paying the price. "The tourist tax is vital to delivering sustainable tourism where local residents feel the benefit of our tourism and events sectors. "I'm delighted that Glasgow is continuing to benefit from Green policy in action." Advertisement In January, Edinburgh was the first council in Scotland to bring in a tourist tax, boosting city coffers by up to £50million. Labour leader of the capital's council, Jane Meagher, labelled the cash the 'single biggest injection of new funding this side of the millennium'.
Wales Online
2 days ago
- Wales Online
Judge tells self-described psychopath 'we meet again'
Judge tells self-described psychopath 'we meet again' Aaron Kerr threw away his chance to reform and was locked up Aaron Kerr (Image: Merseyside Police ) A judge told a self-described psychopath dad "it's unfortunate that we meet again" after the man hurled an ashtray at a woman's head in a post-christening meeting in a pub. Aaron Kerr had previously been allowed to walked free from Liverpool Crown Court after it heard he had chased a man out of a bar brandishing a knife. But Kerr threw away his second chance after setting off fire extinguishers and threatening police officers with scissors during another episode of drunken violence in a pub. To make matters worse Kerr left another innocent victim with a bleeding injury after another drinking session, the same court heard. In a hearing on June 11 Liverpool Crown Court heard that Kerr, of St Oswald's Avenue in Beechwood, Wirral, drank for hours in the Stork Hotel in Birkenhead on March 27 this year. Hannah Darling, prosecuting told the court he "caused a nuisance" by trespassing behind the bar, hurling drinks and igniting fire extinguishers. After being told to get out of the premises by manager Michelle Clark the 38-year-old warned her that "he was a psychopath". Kerr snatched her phone out of her hands as she tried to ring the pub's owner and threatened to "put her in the ground", the court heard. Kerr then grabbed another customer, Paul Watson, by the neck and pulled him to the floor and repeatedly punching him in the face. When Ms Clark and another member of the public tried to stop him Kerr told Ms Clark: "Get off my hand before I slap you." Realising police had arrived the defendant took a pair of scissors out of his pocket and threatened to stab them. The PCs were forced to draw their tasers in order to stop him. Kerr told detectives that he "felt s***" after being shown CCTV footage of the incident, the court was told. Article continues below The defendant subsequently went to the Coach and Horses pub in Moreton on May 17 and drunkenly put a metal ashtray onto the head of a woman named Natasha Harvey as an apparent joke. When she did the same to him he responded by throwing the blunt object at her head from across the table. The victim was left with a wound of three to four centimetres long and one to two centimetres wide. Interviewed afterwards Kerr said he had gone to the pub after a Christening while "intoxicated" but "wouldn't have done something if someone else hadn't started it". His criminal record shows he had seven previous convictions for 12 offences, including an affray in 2010. He was then handed a 17-month community order with unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement by Judge David Swinnerton, the same judge who he appeared before during his latest court date, for the same charge in June last year. This came after he chased his victim out of a pub armed with a Stanley knife. Defending Kerr Joanne Maxwell told the court: "One can see that this is a man who is capable of staying out of trouble. There is a gap in his offending between 2010 and 2020. "2020 is when his sister lost her life suddenly and unexpectedly, and he turned to drink. All of these offences have been fuelled by alcohol, and that is the real evil in this case. This is a man who clearly needs help. He needs a period of abstinence, and a lengthy period of abstinence." Kerr admitted two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, affray, assault, possession of a bladed article in a public place and breaching a community order. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a navy blue Moose Knuckles jumper, he was jailed for two years. Sentencing, Judge David Swinnerton said: "It is unfortunate that we meet again. You had demonstrated, until June 2024, an ability to stay out of trouble. That was what was in my mind when I gave you an opportunity with the community order. "You had been out of trouble, aside from one conviction for shoplifting, for more than 14 years at that stage. But you went to the Stork Hotel bar. You got drunk. It is clear that that is your problem. You let yourself down. You have let yourself down time and time again lately through drink. "For no real reason, you became abusive towards customers. You began punching him and continued to punch him on the floor. You persistently and repeatedly punched him. You then armed yourself with some scissors from the bar and made threats that you were going to stab the police officers when they came to try to sort you out. "You pleaded guilty to those matters and were bailed awaiting sentence. You went to the Coach and Horses pub, where, again, you got drunk. I am pretty certain that everyone had had a drink. "You put an ashtray upside down on her head. That was intended as a joke. That was then put back on your head, and that was not taken as a joke despite you having done exactly the same to her. You threw it with some force at her from across the table, less than a metre away. Again, you lost your temper for no good reason whatsoever other than you were in drink. "On that occasion, I gave you an opportunity to serve a sentence in the community, which was designed to assist you and, to be fair, you made a good job of that. You have done all of the hours of unpaid work and 10 out of 20 RAR days. "In terms of changing your ways and learning anything, the five offences for which I have to sentence you demonstrate not. I take the view that, once you have had a chance, as you had from me last year, to rehabilitate yourself in the community and you go on to commit five further offences on two occasions of a similar nature, the only appropriate sentence is one of immediate custody. Article continues below "You will have a relatively long time now, sober and clear of alcohol. If you want to spend your life working hard and looking after your family, as you are perfectly capable of doing, you need to think carefully about how much you are drinking upon your release."
