Josh Kerr, the world's fastest man over the mile distance, will face off against his Scottish compatriot Jake Wightman in the men's mile final at the Australian Championships.
The highly anticipated showdown has been building up to this moment, with Kerr and Wightman having a long history of racing together at the Scotstoun track in Glasgow since their junior days. Childhood pals from Edinburgh, they have shared bad beatings, grim weather, and long car journeys along the M8 with sandwiches for sustenance.
However, not everyone is buying into the narrative of a Scottish showdown. Athletics experts point out that 20-year-old Australian Cam Myers is also in the running, having broken through in the Diamond League with a stellar summer performance. Myers edged Wightman in their heat on Wednesday, finishing in a time almost five seconds faster than Kerr's.
Kerr, the world record holder, was coasting to a win in his heat, even taking the time to conduct the crowd at a couple of points. But he will be wary of the youngster, as well as another Australian, Olli Hoare, who was tripped early in Kerr's heat but secured his place in the final after an appeal.
BBC Sport pundit Steve Cram, a former mile world record holder and three-time Commonwealth champion, praised organisers for the innovative inclusion of the event, which was last run in 1966. Cram notes the parallels between the current competition and the 1954 Vancouver Games, where England's Roger Bannister and Australia's John Landy competed two months after Bannister became the first athlete to run a sub-four-minute mile.
The event has been reinstated as a tribute to 'The Miracle Mile' run at the 1954 Vancouver Games. Kerr has been on a roll, lowering the mile record to three minutes 42.66 seconds just a couple of weeks ago. Cram thinks it will be a close competition, saying, "I don't think any of them are going to completely dominate. I think it's going to be really close."
The easy assumption to make is that the Scottish crowd will roar one of their own to victory, but being the home athlete is not necessarily always advantageous. Kerr has had to deal with distractions, including well-wishers and selfie hunters, even after his heat on Wednesday.
The Australian Championships will be held on Saturday night, with Kerr and Wightman set to face off in the men's mile final. The crowd will be on the edge of their seats as these two Scottish athletes go head-to-head, but will Myers and Hoare be able to spoil the party?
Source: Yahoo Sports
