Photo via BBC Sport

Brands v country - Kerr ramps up kit battle after latest victory

Josh Kerr captured the 1500m title at the inaugural Ultimate Championship in Budapest, securing a $150,000 top prize at the newly minted biennial World Athletics competition. While celebrating draped in a Union Jack, the 28-year-old Scottish runner intentionally slung his personal Brooks spikes across his shoulder to hide the national team kit's Nike branding during imagery of his victory celebration.

The 2023 world champion, who also claimed Olympic bronze in 2020 and silver in 2024 for Great Britain, argued that track athletes need permission to showcase their individual corporate sponsors rather than national partners at such events to improve their earning power.

Unlike traditional championships featuring overall medal counts, the season-ending Hungarian tournament showcased a reduced field competing purely for personal accolades, though athletes were still barred from wearing private sponsor kits as they do on the Diamond League circuit. Track competitors lack guaranteed salaries and face comparatively small earnings, with Olympic gold payouts only reaching $50,000 when instituted at the 2024 Paris Games alongside bonuses provided by select nations such as the United States.

Following the protest, World Athletics was approached for a statement regarding Kerr's push for athlete commercial flexibility.