Hamish Kerr has become the first New Zealander to win a high jump medal at a world championships of Olympics event with a share of bronze at the World Indoor Championships in Serbia overnight Sunday (NZ time).
Competing at his first indoor competition, Kerr, 25, matched his national outdoor record of 2.31m to split third on the podium with Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi.
The gold was secured by 2022 world No. 1 Sanghyeok Woo of South Korea, who successfully cleared 2.34m with his first attempt. Swiss jumper Loic Gasch also cleared a best of 2.31m to grab silver on countback ahead of Hamish and Tamberi.
The Aucklander says he's "amazingly stoked" with his efforts in Belgrade, claiming New Zealand's second bronze of the competition after Tom Walsh's achievement in the shot put on Sunday.
"Part of it is relief but I'm just absolutely over the moon, just so stoked," Kerr tells Newshub.
"I don't think I ever dreamed that I'd be in this position. My coach always believed and I always told myself I could - but it's crazy."
Only six men remained in contention at the 2.31m height - a mark Hamish first achieved when setting the NZ outdoor record in Wellington last year - with the Kiwi clipping the bar his heels for a narrow miss with his first attempt, before nailing it with his second to move into the medal placings.
Competing in a field decimated by injury, Kerr insists it made his achievement no less enjoyable, as he cleared a mark only a few other athletes had reached so far this season.
"If I'd won a medal and jumped 2.28 for example it would've felt hollow. But to jump 2.31 and have the consummate performance that I did have - I didn't do much wrong.
"I'd never jumped indoors before and the track's quite different here, so I had to make a lot of adjustments through the competition but I was able to manage those really well.
"So I did feel like I'd climbed a huge mountain and really fought for it, which makes the result feel pretty awesome."
He admits his slow start to the competition had come back to haunt him, with his failure on his first attempt at 2.15m costing him a position.
"Had I cleared it, I would have jumped up a position, but the thing is I'd never jumped indoors before, and it took me the entire competition to get used to the track," he says. "But with every jump I worked the track a little bit better.
"At 2.31m I always had the belief I could get it, I just had to commit to my last few steps, which has been an issue for me all season.
"I didn’t quite commit to the first attempt but I had a good sniff (of clearing). That second attempt I committed and it was one of the nicest jumps of my life."
The result gives Kerr a huge injection of self belief, as he prepares for another European summer of competition leading into the Commonwealth Games at Birmingham and world championships in July.
But the Christchurch-based Kerr - who finished 10th in the finals at the Tokyo Olympics last year - isn't resting on his laurels.
"It's great to come over here and get more proof that I can mix with the big boys and get up when it matters," he says.
"It gives me a lot of confidence that I can step up when it matters but I'm not going to sit here like 2.31m is going to win world champs, because it won't.
"There's more work to be done and we're ready for that challenge."
Meanwhile, Geordie Beamish, the other Kiwi in action during the penultimate session of the championships, finished 10th in the final of the men's 3000m with a time of 7m 46.91s.
