Josh Kerr will line up as the heavy favourite for the Commonwealth Games Mile final at Scotstoun, weeks after breaking the mile world record and fulfilling one of two goals he had set himself for the summer.
The Edinburgh athlete, 28, clocked 3:42.66 at London's Diamond League meeting to erase Hicham El Guerrouj's mark, which had stood for 27 years. He had mapped out the feat under his self-styled Project 222, the number of seconds in his new world record time, and had already named Commonwealth gold as one of his primary targets for the summer, committing to the Games as far back as last year.
Kerr, the 2023 world champion, has spoken openly about wanting to become "the best middle distance runner of all time," a goal he believes depends on winning gold at the next Olympics in two years. For now, the Commonwealth title represents unfinished business. He was too young to compete in 2014, left out of the squad in 2018, and finished last in the 1500m at the 2022 Games in Birmingham.
The mile returns to the Commonwealth programme for the first time in 60 years, and Kerr has been its public face throughout. He came through his heat comfortably and starts as the big favourite at Scotstoun, yet the final is far from settled.
Fellow Scot Jake Wightman, also an Edinburgh AC product and a former world champion, will not concede the race quietly. Wightman won bronze in the 1500m at each of the last two Commonwealth Games, and after a couple of injury-disrupted years he took silver at last year's world championships. Both Scottish athletes qualified for the final with relative ease, and a sell-out crowd will be hoping to see at least one of them on the podium.
The most dangerous outsider may be Australia's Cam Myers. The 20-year-old led Wightman home in the heats and collected Diamond League victories in Paris and Eugene this summer. Kenya's Timothy Cheruiyot, a former world champion and Olympic silver medalist, is also in the field, as is Olli Hoare, the Australian who won the 1500m in Birmingham four years ago and who was reinstated after suffering an unfortunate fall in the heats.
Additional British interest comes from Wales' Jake Heyward, returning to prominence after three injury-wrecked years, and England's Thomas Keen.
The men's final is scheduled for just before 9pm at Scotstoun. The women's Commonwealth Mile follows at around 9.45pm to close the athletics programme, with Scotland's Jemma Reekie and Sarah Calvert taking part. Australia's Jessica Hull, who finished second in the 5,000m, and Claudia Hollingsworth are expected to start as favourites in that race.
