About Hamish Kerr
Born 1996. Hamish Kerr is a New Zealand athletics competitor.
Hamish Kerr (born 17 August 1996) is a New Zealand high jumper. He won the gold medal in the men's high jump at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2025 World Championships. At the World Indoor Championships he won gold in 2024 having previously won bronze in 2022. He also won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Kerr is the co-holder of the Oceanian record and sole holder of the Oceanian indoor record.
Career In June 2019, Kerr equalled the national record with a jump of 2.30 m, winning the gold medal at the Oceania Athletics Championships in Townsville. He went on to compete at the Universiade in Naples, Italy, in July and then the World Athletics Championships in October in Doha, Qatar.
In February 2021, he improved the national record with 2.31 m at the Newtown Park Stadium, Wellington. Later the same year at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he finished 10th in the men's high jump final with a clearance of 2.30 m.
Kerr competed at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, in March, where he surpassed the 39-year-old New Zealand indoor record of Roger Te Puni (of 2.16 m) with a bronze medal-winning jump of 2.31 m (tied with Gianmarco Tamberi). He won the Oceania Athletics Championships in June that year, jumping 2.24 m. In August, he claimed the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham with a jump of 2.25 m.
In February 2023 at the Banskobystricka latka in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, Kerr broke Tim Forsyth's Oceanian indoor record dating back to 1997 with a clearance of 2.34 m.
On 10 August 2024, Kerr won the gold medal in the final of men's high jump at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, having cleared 2.34 m in a jump-off against Shelby McEwen – the two both had previously cleared 2.36 m in regulation.
On 17 September 2025, Kerr won the high jump at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, equalling his personal best and national record 2.36 m.
In December 2025, Kerr was awarded the Lonsdale Cup by the New Zealand Olympic Committee.
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
People in Hamish Kerr's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Hamish Kerr's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Hamish Kerr?
New Zealand athletics competitor
When was Hamish Kerr born?
Hamish Kerr was born on 17 August 1996 in Dunedin.
What is Hamish Kerr's occupation?
Hamish Kerr is an athletics competitor.
What nationality is Hamish Kerr?
Hamish Kerr is New Zealand.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Hamish Kerr. https://biography.guide/hamish-kerr/
MLA: "Hamish Kerr." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/hamish-kerr/.
Chicago: "Hamish Kerr." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/hamish-kerr/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:30 UTC