“The 1500m – what to say? … Jakob Ingebrigtsen has to go for 3:26 to burn-off Josh Kerr. And Jakob is the man to do it. Still America has three fine runners looking to medal and understand the dynamic.
Prediction: Ingebritson, Naguse, Kerr, ….Hocker,, Kessler (!!)” – Anthony Bastain, Track Prognosticator.
That kind of day when you have to shuffle your nap time.
Men’s 1500m Final
Oregon Duck for the Gold!!!
Defending champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen grabbed the lead early as is his style. He passed 400 meters in 54.82, with Kenya’s Brian Komen on his right shoulder. At 800 meters, Ingebrigtsen was at 1:51.38 with Kenyan Tim Cheruiyot and Josh Kerr (GBR) on his shoulders.
“Of course, it’s a tactical error that I’m not able to reduce my pace the first 800,” Ingebrigtsen said after the race. “Just a little too hard.”
By the bell, Ingebrigtsen had towed the field through 1,200 in 2:47.27. Then the serious racing began.
Kerr moved up to second with USA’s Cole Hocker third with 200 meters to go. Curling into the straight, Hocker tried to make a move on the inside. Hocker was jostled, his rhythm interrupted, and he appeared completely nonplussed. And made the same move on the home straight. Known for his kick since he graced Hayward Field as an Oregon Duck, Hocker finally found space on the inside to pass Ingebrigtsen and Kerr, winning in 3:27.65. An Olympic Record, an American Record!
Yared Nuguse passed Ingebrigtsen in the final fifty meters to go and The Goose almost caught Kerr for the silver, with Kerr getting a national record of 3:27.79 in second and Yuguse in a lifetime best of 3:27.80! Ingebrigtsen fourth (3:28.24) made the race but missed the medals. American Hobbs Kessler of the Very Nice Track Club PRed in fifth with 3:29.45! Hocker is now seventh fastest in history with Kerr eighth.
First time two Americans medaled in this event in 112 years. (And, no, I wasn’t there.) To be honest, was impressed when all three members of the USA 1500m team made the Finals. That’s no gimme.
But ALL THREE in the TOP FIVE? Historic.
Then the emails started coming in.
I just watched it for the 4th time complete, 8th or 9th for last lap. I still don’t entirely believe Hocker’s going to pull it off each time. Kessler is only 21 and is under 3:30.
I just watched it again too. Pretty cool to see the 3rd American in the race run 3:29. All 3 of them ran brilliant races, covering every move up front. I’m guessing that with about 80 meters to go, Kerr was thinking “I’ve got this!” He nearly got pushed back to bronze!
Unreal! I could watch that 1500 ten more times and not get enough.
Hope these amazing young athletes have some sense of how much joy they bring to many old folks. Kids, too. Okay, most anybody alive who enjoys greatness and competition and beauty.
Hocker bettered his personal best by nearly three seconds to win.
“If you’ve been following my season, you knew I was capable of it,” Hocker said. “But still, things had to go my way today.”
Listed as a 30-1 underdog, Hocker gets $50,000 of green to go with his Gold.
“It was a deafening noise. I’ve never heard that in a stadium before,” Hocker said of the 80,000 screaming fans in the Stade de France. “I kind of lost feeling in my body and it didn’t feel like the Olympics anymore until it did.”
“That’s an unbelievable feeling,” the Indiana native said after the victory. “I just felt like I was getting carried by the stadium and God. My body just kind of did it for me. My mind was all there and I saw that finish line.
“Winning gold was my goal this entire year. 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.”
What about when you got knocked askew?
“I gathered myself and I attacked again. Just incredible,” Hocker said.
“They’ve [Josh & Jakob] had all this added pressure and all that and noise,” Hocker said. “I think that’s part of this. This job is blocking out that noise and it gets harder and harder the more you excel.”
“I kind of told myself that I’m in this race, too,” Hocker said. “If they let me fly under the radar, then so be it. I think that might’ve just been the best.
Kerr called Hocker’s performance “the best the Olympics has ever seen.”
Now if I could only get Peacock to work right.