Olympic high jump champion Hamish Kerr withdraws from Commonwealth Games
Monday, 27 July 2026
Having declared his tilt at back-to-back Commonwealth Games golds a bridge too far, “burnt out” champion Kiwi high jumper Hamish Kerr will now look to refix his ambitions on the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest from September 11-13.
The 29-year-old Olympic and world high jump champion confirmed early on Monday he would not defend his Games men’s high jump title (scheduled for early Tuesday NZT) after taking an unscheduled break from the sport in 2026. He has not responded to multiple media requests throughout a year that has clearly presented its challenges.
In a statement, Kerr said it had been a difficult decision to reach, but, ultimately, he was not ready to compete in Glasgow at the level he expected of himself. He has toed the start-line only once in 2026, clearing 2.28 metres to claim his 10th national title in Auckland in March, but had asked to be included in the start-list for Glasgow as he took his decision to the eleventh hour.
“After a successful, yet incredibly demanding few years, I came into 2026 feeling motivated and excited for the season ahead,” he said. “Early in the year I felt a bit burnt out and needing to take a step back to reset both mentally and physically. Since then, I've been back training and feel I’m making encouraging progress,” Kerr said.
“My team and I were working hard to be ready in time for Glasgow 2026 and while I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made, we’ve agreed I'm not quite ready to compete. I feel I’m moving in the right direction and I'm excited for what's ahead.”
Kerr and his team believe he is “close” to a return to competition, and if he’s to mount a credible campaign for the Ultimate championships, the new World Athletics-led global competition that is offering a record US$10 million in prize-money, then that would need to be sooner rather than later.
The Christchurch-based athlete could potentially line up, alongside some lower-tier events, in the Diamond League meet in Silesia, Poland, on August 22 and, possibly, the finals in Brussels September 4-5 as a lead-in to Budapest.
This had always shaped as a challenging year mentally for the driven athlete who admitted after claiming both the Diamond League crown and world championships gold in 2025, to follow his memorable Olympic triumph a year earlier, that he had experienced a “full-circle moment” and would need to find new motivations to continue to reach for the heights.
Kerr admitted that after his Olympic gold in Paris he had even contemplated retirement, before finding the right mental drivers for 2025. “You do the Olympics, you get to that highest mountain and you don’t have another mountain sitting there. I didn’t have that mountain sitting there so I couldn’t see what was next. That was a space I had to sit in for a while,” he said after his world champs gold in Tokyo.
If he’s looking for something tangible to remotivate him, the Ultimate champs could tick a box. With US$150,000 on the line for winners, that’s a healthy cash bonus to aim for, not to mention a fresh new title to add to his bulging trophy cabinet.
New Zealand team chef de mission Nigel Avery said they fully supported the high jumper’s decision: “Hamish has built his career on striving for excellence and performing at the highest level. While this was a hard decision, it speaks to the standards he holds himself to and the competitor he is.”
Kerr’s absence reduces the Kiwi athletics team to 19 after 2022 silver medallist Jacko Gill also withdrew from the men’s shot put due to injury.
Kerr’s partner, Maddie Wilson, will compete in the women’s heptathlon in Glasgow.
The track and field programme opens on Monday night (NZT) with Lauren Bruce in qualifying for the hammer throw at 10.40pm.
Sprinter Zoe Hobbs has progressed directly to the 100m semifinals (6.36am Wednesday) as one of the top-eight seeds.