WAR GAMES

Kerr ready for fight with track rival to prove who's best

- FRASER WILSON

PUMPED-UP Josh Kerr says he is preparing for WAR in his bid to bring home gold from Paris.

The Scottish 1500m world champion insists he's the best on the planet and will prove it by blowing away rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the Stade de France to add a first Olympic gold to his collection.

Kerr's track conflict with the Norwegian, who heads to France as 1500m defending champion, is one of the fiercest and most eagerly anticipated of the entire Games.

It blew up last year when the Edinburgh runner stormed home ahead of Ingebrigtsen in Budapest to land the world title only for the Scandinavian to claim he was ill and fob Kerr of with "just the next guy" tag.

But with the opening ceremony on the Seine later this evening signalling the start of the 33rd Olympiad Kerr can't wait to get started and prove he is No.1 once and for all.

His sights are set firmly on the August 6 final with the heats coming four days earlier.

And the 26-year-old has piled the pressure on his arch enemy, saying: "It's his title to lose.

"I'm the best in the world at 1500m and I've been wanting to bring home gold medals from the Olympics for my whole career. Now there's not many other people can get in the way of that.