THE BEST CHAMPIONSHIP advice for Jakob Ingebrigtsen would be for him to do what he does best, run a pace that only he can handle and then finish strongly. We’ve seen that work for the superstar in innumerable Diamond League races, and indeed, that’s what the Olympic champion set out to do here. Yet the script again got flipped, and the picture of unrelenting power that fans were left with was the sight of Josh Kerr outkicking the Norwegian on the final stretch to win gold in 3:29.38.
The road to the final was rough for some of the expected contenders. Aussie Stewart McSweyn, picked for 10th, didn’t get past the first round, nor did USATF runner-up Joe Waskom. The semis eliminated Spaniards Adel Mechaal and Mohamed Katir, as well as ‘19 champ (and Olympic silver medalist) Timothy Cheruiyot.
After a blistering day, temperature had eased to 80 (27C) for the 9:16pm start. At the gun, it was Abel Kipsang who emerged from the crowd to lead the early going. His pace over the first lap, 27.11 and 56.01, might have suited Ingebrigtsen’s purposes quite nicely. But the 22-year-old decided to take over and he led through 800 in 1:54.23, ahead of Kipsang and a well-positioned USATF champ Yared Nuguse.
Then he unleashed the long kick he is known for, covering the third lap in 55.3 (2:49.53). As impressive as that was, it didn’t have the effect of thinning out his pursuers; the entire pack was still within 1.2 seconds of him. On his shoulder Kerr was pressing, with Kipsang a step back. Niels Laros of the Netherlands made a strong bid on the backstretch, while Nuguse struggled to find a kick.
Then Kerr moved to pass going into the turn — a no-no in the eyes of multitudes of high school coaches — but in this case it might have been absolutely brilliant. The 25-year-old member of the Brooks Beasts certainly ran farther, and he was not able to pass the leader. But what he did do was apply immense psychological pressure to Ingebrigtsen, who surely grew frustrated that he couldn’t summon the speed to leave Kerr behind.
The Scot never relented, and halfway down the final stretch, he finally broke Ingebrigtsen, then crossed the line with a perfunctory lean in 3:29.38. The Norwegian, seemingly dazed, let up before his finish in 3:29.65 and was nearly tagged by his teammate, Narve Gilje Nordås, who blew by 7 men in the last 300 for bronze in 3:29.68. Kipsang would be 4th in 3:29.89 and Nuguse next in 3:30.25. The other American, Cole Hocker, ran a PR 3:30.70 in 7th.
Kerr’s win, stirring up memories of the early-’80s heyday for British milers, followed by 13 months fellow Scot Jake Wightman’s title run in Eugene.
“Those last moments of the race will be engraved on my brain for a very long time,” said Kerr. “I knew I had him with about 50m to go. I ran that last lap as well as I could and today it was all heart, all guts and remembering all the really hard yards it took me to get here.
“As I came round the bend I thought, ‘I have to give everything I have.’ I didn’t worry about what was going on earlier in the race, just made sure I was there with 200m to go. Then in the last 30m I thought, ‘I want this so badly, I don’t care how much pain I’m in I’m going to do everything to get to the finish line first.’”
The loss appeared to leave Ingebrigtsen, the world leader, in shock. For the past two years he has gone undefeated in his marquee event, with the exception of three World Championship finals (2 out, 1 in).
Revealing a sore throat had him feeling a touch subpar physically, Ingebrigtsen said, “I feel a little bit unlucky not being able to do what I have been doing the whole season, especially as it is the World Championships final. It is what it is… I tried to give 100% but it is not easy when you are not feeling 100%.”
MEN’S 1500 RESULTS
FINAL (August 23)
1. Josh Kerr (GB) 3:29.38 (13.62, 26.55, 52.77, 1:49.23)
(56.66, 58.16 [1:54.82], 54.76 [2:49.58], 39.80);
2. Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Nor) 3:29.65 (13.91, 26.80, 53.76, 1:49.76)
(56.13, 58.10 [1:54.23], 55.30 [2:49.53], 40.12) ;
3. Narve Gilje Nordås (Nor) 3:29.68 (12.85, 26.10, 52.61, 1:48.77);
4. Abel Kipsang (Ken) 3:29.89 (13.61, 26.76, 53.18, 1:49.91);
5. Yared Nuguse (US) 3:30.25 (x, 5 A)
(13.47, 26.86, 53.62, 1:50.23);
6. Mario García (Spa) 3:30.26 (13.28, 26.57, 53.00, 1:49.60);
7. Cole Hocker (US) 3:30.70 PR (6, 10 A)
(13.35, 26.92, 53.53, 1:50.15);
8. Raynold Kipkorir (Ken) 3:30.78 (x, 7 WJ);
9. Neil Gourley (GB) 3:31.10;
10. Niels Laros (Neth) 3:31.25 NR, NJR (7, x WJ);
11. Azeddine Habz (Fra) 3:33.14;
12. Isaac Nader (Por) 3:35.41.
HEATS (August 19)
I–1. Ingebrigtsen 3:33.94 (fastest-ever first round); 2. Kerr 3:34.00; 3. Kipkorir 3:34.24; 4. Adel Mechaal (Spa) 3:34.35; 5. Nader 3:34.36; 6. Charles Philibert-Thiboutot (Can) 3:34.60; 7. Amos Bartelsmeyer (Ger) 3:35.44; 8. Samuel Zeleke (Eth) 3:36.57; 9. Abraham Guem (SSD) 3:37.85 PR; 10. Ryan Mphahlele (SA) 3:39.16; 11. Yervand Mkrtchyan (Arm) 3:39.35 NR; 12. Nicholas Griggs (Ire) 3:40.72;… advanced on appeal—13. Matthew Ramsden (Aus) 3:46.45; 14. Tom Elmer (Swi) 3:55.72; 15. Emil Danielsson (Swe) 3:57.70.
II–1. García 3:46.77; 2. Tshepo Tshite (SA) 3:46.79; 3. Gourley 3:46.87; 4. Samuel Tanner (NZ) 3:46.93; 5. Ruben Verheyden (Bel) 3:47.02; 6. Timothy Cheruiyot (Ken) 3:47.09; 7. Joonas Rinne (Fin) 3:47.16; 8. Joe Waskom (US) 3:47.26; 9. Hicham Akankam (Mor) 3:47.45; 10. Luke McCann (Ire) 3:47.48; 11. Teddese Lemi (Eth) 3:47.49; 12. Rob Napolitano (PR) 3:48.29; 13. Joao Capistrano M. Bussotti Neves Junior (Ita) 3:48.55; 14. Julian Ranc (Fra) 3:48.63.
III–1. Laros 3:34.25; 2. Mohamed Katir (Spa) 3:34.34; 3. Hocker 3:34.43; 4. Pietro Arese (Ita) 3:34.48; 5. Nordås 3:34.67; 6. Habz 3:35.16; 7. Stewart McSweyn (Aus) 3:36.01; 8. Kieran Lumb (Can) 3:36.66; 9. Abdelatif Sadiki (Mor) 3:37.19; 10. Elzan Bibić (Ser) 3:37.45; 11. István Szögi (Hun) 3:37.57; 12. Abu Salim Mayanja (Uga) 3:38.15; 13. Ajay Kumar Saroj (Ind) 3:38.24 PR; 14. Diego Lacamoire (Arg) 3:38.92 PR; 15. Ismael Debjani (Bel) 3:39.73.
IV–1. Kipsang 3:34.08; 2. Nuguse 3:34.16; 3. Adam Spencer (Aus) 3:34.17; 4. Charles Grethen (Lux) 3:34.32; 5. Elliot Giles (GB) 3:34.63; 6. Andrew Coscoran (Ire) 3:34.75; 7. Ossama Meslek (Ita) 3:35.12; 8. Salim Keddar (Alg) 3:35.17; 9. Jochem Vermeulen (Bel) 3:35.45; 10. Anass Essayi (Mor) 3:35.63; 11. Michał Rozmys (Pol) 3:36.26; 12. Raphael Pallitsch (Aut) 3:36.47 PR; 13. Kristian Uldbjerg Hansen (Den) 3:37.27 PR; 14. Adisu Girma (Eth) 3:45.86.
SEMIS (August 20)
I–1. Nuguse 3:32.69; 2. Kipsang 3:32.72; 3. Laros 3:32.74 NR; 4. Habz 3:32.79; 5. Nordås 3:32.81; 6. Gourley 3:32.97; 7. Tshite 3:32.98 (fastest non-Q ever); 8. Arese 3:33.11 PR; 9. Mechaal 3:33.33; 10. Katir 3:33.56; 11. Verheyden 3:33.96; 12. Danielsson 3:34.16 PR; 13. Ramsden 3:36.83; 14. Coscoran 3:37.39.
II–1. Ingebrigtsen 3:34.98; 2. Kerr 3:35.14; 3. Hocker 3:35.23; 4. García 3:35.26; 5. Nader 3:35.31; 6. Kipkorir 3:35.53; 7. Grethen 3:36.18; 8. Tanner 3:36.58; 9. Cheruiyot 3:37.40; 10. Philibert-Thiboutot 3:37.41; 11. Elmer 3:38.33; 12. Giles 3:39.05; 13. Spencer 3:42.10.
