After Josh Kerr became Great Britain's first ever Ultimate Champion with a dominant victory in the 1500m in Budapest on Sunday evening, he celebrated in customary fashion - Union Jack draped around him, beaming smile, arms raised before the cheering crowd. But he also did something less traditional, ramping up a battle over funding at the top of athletics in the process.

The 28-year-old made a clear point of obscuring the Nike sponsor's logo on his Great Britain kit by tying his Brooks-branded running spikes over his shoulder, meaning that the video footage and photographs of his trophy lift highlighted his own personal sponsor rather than his nation's. After praising the inaugural running of the Ultimate Championship, a new biennial event run by World Athletics with a focus on big names, Kerr explained the meaning behind the move in his interview with BBC Sport.

"There is one last thing that I think we can get right, which is allowing the athletes to represent their own brands versus their country," Kerr said. "I love my country and competing for them, but we don't make any money from that sadly. We don't have the pay cheques that other sports do yet. So that would be an opportunity to grow." BBC Sport has contacted World Athletics for comment.

Edinburgh native Kerr has won medals representing Great Britain at both the Olympics - picking up bronze in 2020 and silver in 2024 - and World Championships, having taken gold in 2023. At the Ultimate Championship, a much smaller field of athletes compete for individual titles, with no country medal table. Kerr earned $150,000 for winning.