WITH NO HEATS, NO RABBITS and no pacing lights, the 1500 was boiled down to its basic elements: an honest footrace featuring the best milers in the world.
In the field, the last 4 world champions in Timothy Cheruiyot, Jake Wightman, Josh Kerr and Isaac Nader, plus the defending Olympic champion, Cole Hocker. The ‘21 Olympic champion, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, had withdrawn after his 5000 victory, saying that he was not yet in condition for the double.
Beyond the champions, the race boasted depth galore: only 2 of the 11 starters had PRs slower than 3:30.
Kerr stood on the line as the man of the moment, fresh off his mile World Record and Commonwealth win. The Scot was hailed as the favorite in every corner of the sport save for WA’s off-kilter techno predictions, which rated him as 13th and last in the field.
Germany’s Robert Farken took it upon himself to be the leader, ushering the field along with splits of 57.09 and 1:55.29. Hocker ran in 2nd through that point, while Kerr stayed calm in mid-pack.
Yared Nuguse was the first to bolt, with more than 600 remaining. He covered the next 200 in 27.2, followed closely by Farken and Phanuel Koech. He passed 1200 in 2:49.91, and Kerr made a strong move to his shoulder and then past him.
Down the backstretch Kerr flew, Cam Myers in hot pursuit. Hobbs Kessler, running his most inspired race of the season, edged ahead of Nuguse into 3rd position and chased the leaders around the final turn.
The sprint told the story. Kerr had more left than Myers and took the win in 3:29.35 to the young Aussie’s 3:29.68. Kessler hit his limit and fell back, desperately racing toward the line to stay ahead of his fast-closing pursuers, Hocker and Nuguse. He made it, just barely, in 3:30.73. Hocker passed him an inch too late, in 3:30.74, with Nuguse at 3:30.76.
“I knew I could do it,” said Kerr, whose last 800 took just 1:47.79. “I just didn’t want to push too early.
“I managed to look at the screen and see what the gap was. In the last 2 laps the gap was changing and I knew I had [Myers]. Sometimes you’ve got to dig a bit deeper in order to win or set a World Record. In the last 2 weeks I pushed myself a bit and I knew I had been working hard.”
Said Myers, “I raced tactically perfectly and I was just beaten by a stronger runner, so that is how it goes.”
“It means so much to me,” said Kessler. “I just wanted to be on the rail as I’m not fitter than those guys, I’m just not. Everyone trains hard, everyone is well coached, and there is so much talent. So I just ran less distance, that’s the reason I finished 3rd today. I waited for the fatigue and, when it came, I just tried to hold on.”
UC MEN’S 1500 RESULTS
(September 13)
1. Josh Kerr (GB) 3:29.35
(57.72, 58.30 [1:56.02], 53.98 [2:50.00])
(12.99, 26.02, 52.57, 1:47.79)
2. Cam Myers (Aus) 3:29.68
(13.15, 26.15, 52.73, 1:48.44)
3. Hobbs Kessler (US) 3:30.73
(13.90, 27.14, 53.72, 1:49.36)
4. Cole Hocker (US) 3:30.74
(13.23, 26.40, 53.63, 1:49.69)
5. Yared Nuguse (US) 3:30.76
(13.51, 27.23, 54.38, 1:49.34) (2:49.91)
6. Azeddine Habz (Fra) 3:30.96
(13.69, 27.13, 53.65, 1:49.43)
7. Ethan Strand (US) 3:31.30
(13.20, 26.41, 53.54, 1:49.95)
8. Timothy Cheruiyot (Ken) 3:31.47
9. Jake Wightman (GB) 3:31.56
10. Phanuel Koech (Ken) 3:31.77
11. Robert Farken (Ger) 3:32.90
(57.09, 58.20 [1:55.29])
12. Isaac Nader (Por) 3:39.54.
