Kerr claimed New Zealand’s second gold medal in two days at the world championships in Tokyo when he won the men’s high jump.
Olympic champion Kerr managed a best of 2.36m for gold to follow team-mate Geordie Beamish’s shock victory in the men’s 3000m steeplechase on Monday.
South Korean Sanghyeok Woo claimed silver with a best of 2.34m.
The Korean upped the ante at the climax of a thrilling competition by skipping 2.36m, the bar raised to 2.38m.
But he was ultimately unsuccessful, leaving Dunedin-born Kerr to race around the track and take the applause from a raucous crowd at the National Stadium.
Czech Jan Stefela took bronze with 2.31m on countback from Ukrainian Oleh Doroshchuk.
"Today I had to fight for the gold. It was not an easy final for me," Kerr said.
"Many times I thought I wouldn’t win. But being able to fight and not give up is important. I showed it tonight. It’s not over until it’s over."
Reflecting on double Kiwi gold in Tokyo, Kerr said Beamish’s performance — a historic first world track gold for New Zealand — had been just the tonic.
"Geordie and I have won the world indoor titles on the same day," he said in reference to 2024 in Glasgow when Kerr won the high jump and Beamish the 1500m.
"He gave me a kick in my ass after his win last night so I had to win too," Kerr joked.
"It’s really kind of cool to share our best moments together."
"The thing about the high jump I love most is being able to perform and put on a good show. We definitely did it tonight.
"I am stoked with the gold and stoked with the way I did it. That’s something I am going to look back on.
"All the boys shocked me tonight. This competition was very, very special. Winning when the guys aren’t jumping well isn’t fun, so to be able to fight against guys for the gold was special."
Kerr’s former coach, Terry Lomax, who was watching from New Zealand, told Morning Report that Kerr nailed the opportunity when he got the qualification monkey off his back.
He sent Kerr a text after he secured the gold.
"[I said] something about his mental strength really because that’s really what he showed. All the high jumpers can jump high but you’ve got to be able to turn it on in the top four inches and I think that’s really what he displayed last night," Lomax said.
It was a nervy final for Kerr after needing all three attempts to get through at 2.31m, before he failed twice at 2.34m.
"Everybody wants to get in on their first jump and that’s always the goal of a high jumper," Lomax said.
"Mentally, things change when you miss the first one. There’s the doubt ... but if you don’t get the second then all of a sudden it’s do or die and that’s really the challenge the athletes are having to come up against."
Lomax admitted it was stressful watching.
"Nerves are part of it. It’s just wishing that he gets it ... in my head I’m going ‘just one jump that’s all you need, one jump’.
"I did my normal fist pump ‘yes’ call which is what I do when I see an athlete achieve something like that and the remarkable thing about it really is that in both the Olympics and in this competition he hit his personal best and that is an extra achievement really." — AFP/RNZ
