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SAINT-DENIS, France – The build-up to the race was anticipating a “race for generations,” the men’s 1,500-meter Olympic final that would settle personal scores. After months of taunts, mind games and clashing egos, it was time for Britain’s Josh Kerr to face Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
It was the prelude to a boxing match that would have made the organizers proud. It was a showdown between two heavyweight champions: the current world champion and the current Olympic champion. One was wearing red, the other blue. The question was who would land the knockout blow?
They fought hard from the start. Both gave it their all – Ingebrigtsen in front, Kerr on top. It was only towards the end that they gave up, each fighting off the other’s punches and resisting the urge to fall. First it was Ingebrigtsen, who went down with 100 metres to go. Then it was Kerr, who lost his pace when he needed it most; he peaked just before the finish line, too.
This allowed a third rider to claim the spoils, and with just 20 metres to go, American Cole Hooker flew past them unscathed and in relative obscurity.
The 23-year-old from Indianapolis showed great courage to stay with the leaders and, when the final moments arrived, used his speed to finish attacks to produce one of the biggest upset victories of the Paris Games.
“I said to myself I would do this race too,” Hooker later said. “If they let me fly under the radar, that’s what I would do. I think that might have been for the best.”
The 1500m is not like the 100m, where athletes are trying to set a time and hoping no one else can beat it. The 1500m is more tactical and like a game of chess. It’s about looking at the rest of the runners, gauging your abilities and knowing when to make a move. That makes the preparation more exciting.
Ingebrigtsen has been burned by Kerr’s tactics before. The pair started last year’s world championships, with the Norwegian leading from the start but not setting a high enough pace, allowing Kerr to force him to sprint into the final corner. The only time the pair have raced since then, Kerr has done the reverse routine, taking the lead and keeping Ingebrigtsen behind him until the finish line.
On Tuesday, Ingebrigtsen decided he wasn’t going to let Kerr dominate him again. Ingebrigtsen had dared to set a speed that no one else could match. But he had miscalculated. “I started the race with 54 seconds. That was not the plan at all,” Ingebrigtsen said. The Norwegian was running so fast on the first lap that he was ahead of Hicham El Guerrouj’s 1998 world record.
“It was at least two seconds faster,” Ingebrigtsen said.
Ingebrigtsen wanted to step back, lean on the ropes and take a break. His problem was that he looked back and saw Kerr. The Briton was on his shoulder; he wouldn’t leave Ingebrigtsen alone.
“It was about getting into the deep water early and seeing who could survive,” Kerr said.
And so, they both dared to run faster than ever before. Their arms pumped and their feet pounded as they raced around the track. The rest of the competitors dared to catch up. By the end, seven of the twelve competitors had set personal records. Four of them were national records. If this were a boxing fight, it would be Hagler versus Hearns. It was a fight about pushing yourself to the limit and hoping to be the last man standing.
But something had to happen, and it did with less than 200 metres to go. Ingebrigtsen began to slow down – and suddenly regret set in. “I ruined it for myself by going too fast,” he said later.
Kerr looked like he was about to win the gold medal, about to show off, about to be crowned. He shot around the curve and turned toward the target. But his speed was starting to wane, too.
That allowed Hooker to have a gap inside, and he didn’t need a second call to tear up the script. “It might come as a surprise to a lot of people, but if you’ve been following my season, you know I’m capable of that,” Hooker said.
Hooker had long been known for his speed in finishing races. The runner knew what last card he had to play. But after such a fast race, it seemed unlikely he would be able to do so.
The result of the race shocked everyone, it seemed – well, everyone except Hooker.
“Winning the gold medal was my goal all year,” he said. “I wrote it down and I kept repeating it to myself even if I didn’t believe it. My performance showed me that I could run 3:27, no matter what. I knew I was a candidate to win the medal, and I knew that if I did it, I would get the gold medal. I was saying that.”
Therefore, Ingebrigtsen and Kerr were wrong.
The Norwegian was the fighter left lying on the mat, finishing fourth without a medal.
“My team always says, ‘Because you talk so much and you’re the one to beat, you have everything to lose in competitions,’” Ingebrigtsen said on Instagram. “Today, Cole Hooker, Yarde Nogusi and Josh Kerr beat me.”
Kerr held on to the silver medal, though he narrowly edged out bronze medalist Noguci of Team USA.
Meanwhile, Hooker won the gold medal. The fighter saw the opportunity and landed the knockout blow.
“From my personal perspective, it might be a good idea to fly under the radar,” Hooker said. “I feel like I’ve benefited from that.”
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