Hamish Kerr (born 17 August 1996) is a New Zealand high jumper. He won the gold medal in the men's high jump at the 2024 Summer Olympics. At the World Indoor Championships he won gold in 2024 having previously won bronze in 2022. He also won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Kerr is the co-holder of the Oceanian record holder and sole holder of the Oceanian indoor record.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 August 1996 (age 28) Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Height | 198 cm (6 ft 6 in)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | High jump |
| Achievements and titles | |
| National finals | New Zealand champion (2015, 2017–2023) |
| Personal bests | 2.36 m (7 ft 8+3⁄4 in) NR (2024) Indoors 2.36 m (7 ft 8+3⁄4 in) AR (2024) |
Medal record | |
Career
editIn June 2019, Kerr equalled the national record with a jump of 2.30 m, winning the gold medal at the Oceania Athletics Championships in Townsville.[2] He went on to compete at the Universiade in Naples, Italy, in July and then the World Athletics Championships in October in Doha, Qatar.
In February 2021, he improved the national record with 2.31 m at the Newtown Park Stadium, Wellington.[3] Later the same year at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he finished 10th in the men's high jump final with a clearance of 2.30 m.
Kerr competed at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, in March, where he surpassed the 39-year-old New Zealand indoor record of Roger Te Puni (of 2.16 m) with a bronze medal-winning jump of 2.31 m (tied with Gianmarco Tamberi). He won the Oceania Athletics Championships in June that year, jumping 2.24 m. In August, he claimed the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham with a jump of 2.25 m.
In February 2023 at the Banskobystricka latka in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, Kerr broke Tim Forsyth's Oceanian indoor record dating back to 1997 with a clearance of 2.34 m, a personal best.[4]
On 10 August 2024, Kerr won the gold medal in the final of men's high jump at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, having cleared 2.34 m in a jump-off against Shelby McEwen – the two both had previously cleared 2.36 m in regulation.[5][6]
References
edit- ^ "Hamish Kerr". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
- ^ Adamson, Alan (26 July 2019). "Former Palmerston North athlete Hamish Kerr takes on the world's best". Retrieved 3 October 2019.
- ^ "Hamish Kerr breaks high jump record and targets Olympic qualifying standard". Stuff. 21 February 2021.
- ^ "Hamish Kerr breaks his own NZ high jump record with winning leap in Slovakia". Stuff. 15 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
- ^ Shannon, Kris (10 August 2024). "Hamish Kerr leaps to history with thrilling high jump gold". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ Dampf, Andrew (10 August 2024). "After 11 straight misses, New Zealand's Hamish Kerr wins lengthy jump-off for high jump gold". AP News. Associated Press. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
