JOSH KERR has been living more than 3,000 miles from fiancée Larimar Rodriguez in search of Olympic gold.
With his family by his side, the Team GB runner has already taken home a medal at the World Championships, but this time he’s making the ultimate sacrifice.
Hailing from Scotland, Josh began running when he was eight-years-old, having joined Edinburgh Athletics Club.
He was born on October 8, 1997.
Pursuing his athletics dreams he left home at 17 and moved to the US to attend the University of New Mexico, in Albuquerque.
In 2018, Kerr broke the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) 1500m record and went on to become a professional athlete.
At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he took home bronze in the 1500 metres.
But Kerr is now a global champ after scooping the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the Athletics World Championships and heads into the Paris 2024 Olympics as the favourite to win.
The best athletes are making sacrifices on a daily basis.
Josh Kerr
Paying tribute to his supportive fiancée and his family, he told BBC Sport: “This is a lot for our family and they’ve put a lot of time, effort and money in to me.
“I just couldn’t be prouder to represent the Kerr family name today.
“I gave it everything for them, myself and my fiancee. This is the life I want to lead for them.
“They’ve given me so much and it was nice to pay that back a little bit today.”
Meanwhile, fans will also notice that Kerr is never without his trademark Oakley sunglasses, after landing a lucrative deal with the brand.
He told The Telegraph: “I was a bit apprehensive initially [about racing in sunglasses] … but it makes me very laser focused, because nobody can see my eyes, especially in the [pre-race] call-room.
“It’s fantastic. Someone was [once] swearing at me, ‘Are you looking at me?’ and I was like, ‘I’m not sure, mate, you don’t know where my eyes are looking’.
“It’s a very intimidating thing for people. So it’s a nice little thing up my sleeve.
“I’ve got the gold ones for the final, so they will be looking cool.”
When Kerr isn’t busy competing on the track or training for his next championship, he takes time out with his fiancée Larimar Rodriguez.
Originally from Edinburgh, he was just a teenager when he moved to the United States to study at the University of New Mexico.
It was there that he met his partner.
In December 2021 he shared the exciting news that he had popped the question with two sweet photos of the pair.
The excited athlete wrote the caption: “I couldn’t wait any longer, I’m so excited for our future”, alongside a heart and ring emoji.
In 2018, Josh revealed Larimar had gotten into medical school.
She began working as a resident doctor at the University of Miami in 2023.
But the pair are now living some 3,000 or so miles apart.
Speaking about the separation, Kerr said: “The best athletes are making sacrifices on a daily basis.
“I don’t live in Scotland any more, I live over in the US [Seattle] away from my parents and family. I live in a different state to my fiancée as well.
“I’ve put in the hard yards, I’ve done it an honest way and I know that if I come into a championship without missing any days through injury or illness then I’m going to be in a position to medal.”
Last year, Kerr shared that he gave his phone to his partner to minimise distractions during training.
The substitute phone he received had only two apps installed: Fantasy Football and Duolingo, to help him enhance his Spanish skills.
According to her LinkedIn page, she is also an athlete like her fiancé.
In 2016 she was an Assistant Track And Field Coach at Bosque School, designing workouts and helping lead a group of 20+.
Kerr faces current Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen once again as he looks to take the Olympic crown from his nemesis.
