The world 1500m champion is given the honour after being voted in by fellow teammates in the French capital

Josh Kerr will captain the Great Britain athletics team at the Paris Olympics.

The 26-year-old, who is the current world 1500m indoor 3000m champion, was voted in by his fellow team-mates and will make the traditional captain’s speech at the final team meeting on Sunday (July 28), helping to inspire the 64-strong athletics squad.

"I’m truly honoured with the trust shown by my teammates to lead us into these Games," Kerr said. "I want to be a supporter for the most experienced and an open book for our first timers, and do all I can to help us win those percentage battles over the next couple of weeks.

"Us athletes have had the 'best of the best' support staff and set-up provided to us in preparing for these Games and we want to repay that with our performances out there next week."

Olympic head coach at UK Athletics, Paula Dunn, added: "Congratulations to Josh [Kerr] for receiving this honour from his team-mates for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It is testament to his character and the way he carries himself that they’ve voted for him to take this role.

"I know how respected he is by the rest of the team for his professionalism, and his complete dedication to his performance is inspiring everyone here at preparation camp."

Kerr claimed Olympic 1500m bronze in Tokyo three years ago and now wants to be on the top of the podium in Paris.

In what is expected to be one of the biggest clashes at the Games, the Brit will renew his rivalry with reigning Olympic 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

Kerr finished behind Ingebrigtsen at the Tokyo Olympics but got the better of the Norwegian at last year's World Championships in Budapest.

The men's 1500m heats are scheduled for August 2, the semi-finals on August 4 and the final on August 6.

The latest news from the Team GB camp is that Charlie Carvell, who was down to run in the men's 4x400m, is out of the Olympics with a "minor hamstring issue".

On his Instagram, Carvell said: "I'm devastated, I am being withdrawn from the Paris Olympics due to a minor hamstring issue. I will be taking a break from the sport and social media for a little while."

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