SAINT-DENIS, France — The prerace buildup predicted a “race for the ages,” an Olympic men’s 1,500-meter final that would settle personal scores. After months of jibes and taunts, of mind games and egos colliding, it was time for Britain’s Josh Kerr vs. Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
It was a buildup boxing promoters would be proud of. A clash of the heavyweights: The reigning world champion against the reigning Olympic champion. One in red, one in blue. The question was, who would deliver the knockout punch?
They fought tough from the start. The pair went hell-for-leather — Ingebrigtsen leading from the front and Kerr snapping at his heels. It was only near the end, once they had weathered each other’s punches and fought the urge to fall that their bodies finally gave in. First it was Ingebrigtsen, falling away with 100 meters to go. Then it was Kerr, losing his speed when he most needed it; he had peaked before the line too.
It allowed for a third competitor to take the spoils. With just 20 meters to go, flying past them, unscathed and relatively unknown, was American Cole Hocker.
The 23-year-old from Indianapolis had showed guts to stick with the leaders, and when it came to the final moments, he used his finishing speed to produce one of the major upset victories of these Paris Games.
“I kind of told myself that I’m in this race too,” Hocker said later. “If they let me fly under the radar, then so be it. I think that might’ve just been the best.”
The 1,500-meters event isn’t like the 100-meter race, where athletes are aiming to set a time and hope nobody can match it. The 1,500 is more tactical and chesslike. It’s about looking at the rest of the field, gauging your tank and knowing when to make your move. That’s what made the buildup even more fascinating.
Ingebrigtsen had been burned by Kerr’s tactics before. The feud started at last year’s World Championships, where the Norwegian led from the start but didn’t set the pace quite high enough, enabling Kerr to reel him in and speed ahead at the final bend. The only time the pair had raced since then, Kerr performed the opposite routine, leading from the front and keeping Ingebrigtsen behind him even until the line.
On Tuesday, Ingebrigtsen decided he wouldn’t let Kerr dominate him again. Ingebrigtsen would dare to set a pace no one could match. Only, he miscalculated. “I opened with a 54-second lap,” Ingebrigtsen said. “That wasn’t the plan at all.” The Norwegian was running so fast in the first lap that he was ahead of even Hicham El Guerrouj’s 1998 world record.
“It was at least two seconds too fast,” Ingebrigtsen said.
Ingebrigtsen wanted to drop back, to lean against the ropes and take a breather. His issue was he looked behind and saw Kerr. The Brit was on his shoulder; he wouldn’t leave Ingebrigtsen be.
“It was about going into deep waters early and see who could survive,” Kerr said.
And so, they both dared to run faster than they had ever before. Their arms pumped and their feet pounded as they roared around the track. The rest of the field dared to follow too. By the end, seven of the 12 runners would set personal bests. Four of those were national records. If this were a boxing fight, it would be Hagler vs. Hearns. It was about going flat out and hoping you were left standing at the end.
Only, something was bound to give, and it happened with less than 200 meters to go. Ingebrigtsen began to slow up — and suddenly, the regrets started kicking in. “I ruined it for myself by going way too hard,” he later said.
Kerr looked set for gold, set for bragging rights, set for glory. He fired round the bend and turned for home. But his speed began to sap too.
It allowed a gap for Hocker on the inside, and he didn’t need a second invitation to rip up the script. “It might be an upset to a lot of people, but if you’ve been following my season, you’d know I’d be capable of it,” Hocker said.
Hocker has long been known for his finishing speed. The runner knew that final card to play. But after such a fast race, it seemed improbable he would still be able to produce it.
The race result had shocked seemingly everyone — well, everyone except Hocker.
“Winning gold was my goal this entire year,” he said. “I wrote that down, and I repeated it to myself even if I didn’t believe it. My performances showed me that I was capable of running 3:27, whatever it took. I knew I was a medal contender, and I knew that if I get it right, it would be a gold medal. I’ve been saying that.”
And so, it was Ingebrigtsen and Kerr who were wrong.
The Norwegian was the fighter left lying on the canvas, finishing fourth without a medal.
“My team always say that ‘because you have a big mouth and is the one to beat, you have everything to lose in competitions,'” Ingebrigtsen said on Instagram. “Today, Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse and Josh Kerr outsmarted me.”
Kerr held on for silver, although he barely finished ahead of bronze medalist Nuguse of Team USA.
Meanwhile, Hocker took gold. The fighter who saw the opportunity arise and delivered the knockout blow.
“Speaking personally, it can be nice to fly under the radar,” Hocker said. “I feel like I took advantage of it.”
