Josh Kerr and Jemma Reekie Deliver Third Straight Scottish Sweep at 5th Avenue Mile

By David Monti , @d9monti

September 10, 2023

NEW YORK (10-Sep) — For the third consecutive year athletes from Scotland won the men’s and women’s professional divisions of the New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile, held here for the 42nd time. On the men’s side reigning World Athletics 1500m champion Josh Kerr closed his dream 2023 season with a convincing two-second victory, running the fastest winning time at this event in 28 years: 3:47.9. Reekie, who finished fifth in the recent World Athletics Championships 800m, won for the second time in three years in a more tactical race, clocking 4:19.4. Both winners splashed their way to victory as the race was held on a wet roadway after several heavy downpours.

KERR OVERPOWERS FIELD

Kerr, 25, who represents the Brooks Beasts Track Club, made it clear before the race that he had unfinished business on Fifth Avenue. In last year’s race, he slipped and fell on the wet roadway at the start and only finished tenth. Today he got away cleanly and positioned himself near the front right away. He said that he and Beasts teammate Henry Wynne –who finished tenth– were outfitted with the right Brooks racing shoes for maximum grip in the wet.

PHOTO: Josh Kerr wins the 2023 New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile in 3:47.9 (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)

“We were just sticking to the road all the way through,” Kerr told reporters with his shoes hanging around his neck.

As a steady rain came down, the race began to take shape. Amon Kemboi of Puma Elite Running made a little burst at the mid-point to collect the $1000 prime, but immediately eased up (he would finish 11th). The main field stayed together with Kerr at the front along with fellow Briton George Mills –running the race for the first time– and American veteran Johnny Gregorek. Kerr, who decided not to continue to the Wanda Diamond League final next weekend in Eugene, admitted that he came to today’s race mentally and physically tired after the media whirlwind which followed his victory in Budapest where he beat Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

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“It’s been a lot every day,” Kerr explained. “Obviously, very new to me to win a major (title). So, it’s been a lot of media every day and it’s been, like, mentally draining and tiring. You know, I committed to this race and I really wanted to do it, and I’m just mentally very tired.”

Still, he had plenty of physical energy in the tank today. When Mills pushed after the three-quarter mile mark, Kerr responded with authority. Although he looked back a few times, he easily left the other 18 men in his wake to take his first Fifth Avenue win, his fourth victory of the year from 800m to 3000m.

“It’s a very different effort to run a mile down the street (in) flats versus running around the oval in spikes,” Kerr said. “I’ve got to give respect to how the body’s feeling and I was able to come out on top today.”

Mills, 24, who ran a 3:49.64 mile in Pfungstadt, Germany, just four days ago, ran an excellent race, especially for a Fifth Avenue rookie. He stayed near the lead with his eye on Kerr, but just didn’t have the same top-end speed as the world champion. He got second in 3:49.9, a time which would have won this race on 33 previous occasions since it was founded in 1981. Mills was satisfied, but wanted more.

“I didn’t get it right,” Mills told reporters. “You can only say you got it right if you won. Josh was the only one who got it right today. It was good fun, nice to be here.”

Third place went to steeplechaser Geordie Beamish of New Zealand who finished fifth at the World Athletics Championships. Hen ran 3:50-flat to edge Vincent Ciattei, the top American, by three tenths of a second.

“I’m happy with it,” said Beamish, who represents the On Athletics Club in Boulder, Colo. “Josh is on another level. He really got the best of us over that last 400 meters.”

Frenchman Azeddine Habz rounded out the top-5 in 3:50.5. Sitting on the pavement and leaning against a metal barrier after the race, Habz was the picture of exhaustion.

“C’est difficile,” he told Race Results Weekly, his chest still heaving.

Pl.	First	Last	Age	City	State	Country	Team Affiliation	Time
1	Josh	Kerr	25	Seattle	WA	GBR	Brooks Beasts	03:47.9
2	George	Mills	24	Brighton		GBR	On Athletics Club	03:49.9
3	Geordie	Beamish	26	Boulder	CO	NZL	On Athletics Club	03:50.0
4	Vincent	Ciattei	28	Flagstaff	AZ	USA	Under Armour Dark Sky	03:50.3
5	Azeddine	Habz	30	Paris		FRA	adidas	03:50.5
6	Sam	Prakel	28	Seattle	WA	USA	adidas	03:50.5
7	Johnny	Gregorek	31	Tarrytown	NY	USA	ASICS	03:51.2
8	Kasey	Knevelbaard	27	Flagstaff	AZ	USA	Under Armour Dark Sky	03:52.0
9	Cooper	Teare	24	Eugene	OR	USA	NIKE	03:52.2
10	Henry	Wynne	28	Seattle	WA	USA	Brooks Beasts	03:52.5
11	Amon	Kemboi	27	Raleigh	NC	KEN	Puma	03:53.4
12	Thomas	Ratcliffe	26	Beaverton	OR	USA	NIKE Bowerman Track Club	03:54.0
13	Morgan	Beadlescomb	25	Ann Arbor	MI	USA	adidas	03:54.5
14	Woody	Kincaid	30	Flagstaff	AZ	USA	NIKE	03:55.2
15	Eric	Holt	28	Carmel	NY	USA	Empire Elite	03:55.3
16	James	West	27	Manchester		GBR	New Balance	03:58.0
17	Olin	Hacker	26	Flagstaff	AZ	USA	HOKA Northern Arizona Elite	03:58.6
18	Charles	Philibert-Thiboutot	32	Quebec	QC	CAN	New Balance	03:59.6
19	Erik	Sowinski	33	Arvada	CO	USA		04:01.9

(post-race videos at bottom)

REEKIE TIMES HER FINISH PERFECTLY

Reekie, who won here in 2021, used her experience with the race’s up and down course to her best advantage. She didn’t waste any energy today.

PHOTO: Josh Kerr wins the 2023 New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile in 3:47.9 (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)

“It’s really important to know this course, I think, running in a straight line,” Reekie told Race Results Weekly. “I even did a session the other day in a straight line to practice for this.”

Kaela Edwards, third at July’s USATF Championships in the 800m, was the first to leave the main group just before the halfway mark. But like Kemboi in the men’s race, she was only after the $1000 prime.

“I’m definitely not the most prepared for the mile right now,” Edwards said. “So this is fun. I knew it would be a fun thing to get that halfway bonus. Got to have a little fun at some point this season.”

The race quickly got serious after that. Reekie, USA 1500m champion Nikki Hiltz, Briton’s Melissa Courtney-Bryant, and Australia’s Jessica Hull were all near the front in the second half. Hiltz, who finished second here last year, was keen to get on the podium again, but she ended up fourth today behind Courtney-Bryant, 4:20.6 to 4:20.7.

“It sucks getting fourth,” Hiltz told reporters while still managing to laugh. The USA mile record holder continued: “It happened right on the line. I gave it everything. It was hard, it was wet, it was kind of cold.”

Reekie didn’t have the same kind of explosive finish as Kerr, but she had a good enough gap to not worry about being passed in the end. Ireland’s Sarah Healy came up directly behind her but fell short by six tenths of a second in 4:20.0.

“I really wanted to come here and win again,” said Reekie, who plans to continue her season at the Wanda Diamond League final in Eugene next weekend. “We got that done.”

Healy, who is only 22, was excited with her runner-up performance. However, like George Mills in the men’s race, she felt that she misjudged the race just a little bit.

“I think, maybe, I thought it was 100 meters further than it was,” Healy admitted, wrapped in an Irish flag. “Now I’m thinking I should have waited another ten seconds to really kick. I really enjoyed it, but I was nervous about getting it right.”

Pl.	First	Last	Age	City	State	Country	Team Affiliation	Time
1	Jemma	Reekie	25	Kilbarchan	Sc	GBR	NIKE	04:19.4
2	Sarah	Healy	22	Dublin		IRL	NIKE	04:20.0
3	Melissa	Courtney-Bryant	30	Loughborough		GBR	New Balance	04:20.6
4	Nikki	Hiltz	28	Flagstaff	AZ	USA	lululemon	04:20.7
5	Adelle	Tracey	30	Surrey		JAM	Hoka One One	04:21.3
6	Jessica	Hull	26	Albion Park		AUS	NIKE	04:21.6
7	Elinor	St. Pierre	28	East Berkshire	VT	USA	New Balance	04:23.3
8	Nozomi	Tanaka	24	Ono		JPN	New Balance	04:23.4
9	Katie	Snowden	29	Flagstaff	AZ	GBR	Under Armour Dark Sky Distance	04:23.8
10	Laura	Galvan	31	Guanajuato	–	MEX	Hoka One One	04:23.9
11	Dani	Jones	27	Boulder	CO	USA	New Balance	04:24.7
12	Carina	Viljoen	26	Mammoth Lakes	CA	RSA	ASICS Mammoth Track Club	04:27.7
13	Kaela	Edwards	29	Boulder	CO	USA	adidas	04:29.7
14	Helen	Schlachtenhaufen	28	Brighton	MA	USA	NIKE	04:30.4
15	Susan	Ejore	27	Baltimore	MD	KEN	Under Armour	04:30.6
16	Emily	Mackay	25	Boston	MA	USA	New Balance	04:31.8
17	Gaia	Sabbatini	24	Rome		ITA	NIKE	04:32.3
18	Vera	Hoffmann	26	Luxembourg		LUX	New Balance	04:34.0
19	Regan	Yee	28	Flagstaff	AZ	CAN	Under Armour Dark Sky Distance	04:35.5
20	Courtney	Frerichs	30	Portland	OR	USA	NIKE Bowerman Track Club	04:38.2

RAIN CANCELS SOME HEATS

Not all of the heats at this huge event could be contested today. Some lightning was in the area and New York Road Runners officials temporarily shut down the course and only reopened it for the professional races which were broadcast live by NBC Sports. Nonetheless, 8587 athletes finished today’s race, slightly more than the 8503 recorded last year. That made today’s event the largest road mile in the world this year.

Josh Kerr and Jemma Reekie after 2023 5th Avenue Mile (Kevin Morris photo)

Post-race videos from LRC:

Josh Kerr won’t run DL Final

He’s decided to call it a season.

Nikki Hiltz Wants to Run at Pre, Reflects on 2023 Season

Nikki wasn’t sure how it was determined who gets to run at Pre bu wants to run. Hiltz said their (Hiltz prefers the they/them pronouns) success in 2023 can be based on being in Flagstaff full-time and also in a good place in their life.

6 Months after Giving Birth Elle St. Pierre is Back Racing

Cooper Teare- Is He a 5k or 1500 Runner?

Geordie Beamish on a Great 2023