Asked before the championships for his response to reigning Olympic 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s assertion that he could beat Kerr “blindfolded”, the Briton replied “no comment”.

Kerr, who saw off the Norwegian to win world 1500m gold in Budapest last August, instead trusted his fitness to do the talking for him. It did just that as he kicked clear to win his second global title in little more than six months.

The Scot has made no secret of his belief he will top the podium in Paris and he continues to justify that self-confidence.

Focused on building endurance at the start of this Olympic year, Kerr’s success over 3,000m, in which he displayed blistering finishing speed, came after he broke Sir Mo Farah’s world indoor two-mile record. He has positioned himself as the man to beat this year.

“Josh [Kerr] has become physically intimidating on a track,” said Lord Coe.

“3,000m is a complicated distance indoors, but I thought physically and mentally he had the measure of everyone in that field. The opposition are thinking that as well.”