Josh Kerr fears he will never race bitter rival Jakob Ingebrightsen again at the Olympics after he beat the Norwegian to an Olympic medal in an all-timer of a 1500m final.
Kerr finished second behind shocker winner Cole Hocker, while pre-race favourite Ingebrightsen slumped to a surprising fourth down the home straight.
The 1500m final was billed as a straight shoot-out between Ingebrightsen, the defending champion, and Edinburgh runner Kerr, who beat him to World Championship gold last summer.
They have been in a war of words for the past 12 months, with Ingebrightsen claiming Kerr is scared of racing him and the Scot shooting back by stating “I dislike him,” ahead of the Games.
Kerr won their personal duel, but both took an eye off Hocker, who charged through on the inside to win in an Olympic record time.
Kerr, who won bronze at the last Olympics in Tokyo, is determined to carry on at 1500m but fears Ingebrightsen will not try to regain his title at the next Games in LA.
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The 23-year-old has a big mouth but has now been beaten in his last three major 1500m finals and could well choose to focus on the 5000m, which he is also competing at here.
“I don’t envy him running the 5000,” said Kerr. “That’s hard work.
“He’s obviously pretty dominant in the 5000.
“We’ll see. I can’t see him running the 1500 for a whole another Olympic cycle but he’s running really fast times so that’s not for me to determine. I’ll be sticking to the 1500m.
“I shook his hand but that was about it after, I know that he would have been disappointed.”
Ingebrightsen was back on track on Wednesday morning and won his 5000m heat.
Pre-Games, the Norwegian said he could easily beat Kerr if fit and healthy but faded badly down the final 50m.
His stance towards Kerr softened in the aftermath of the race, as he offered an olive branch to his great rival.
“Well, I guess he did show up after all,” he posted on social media.
“My team always say that ‘because you have a big mouth and is the one to beat, you have everything to lose in competitions’.
“Today, Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse and Josh Kerr outsmarted me. The were the best guys when it really mattered. And I want to congratulate them all on a great performance!”
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Kerr’s reply underlined the rivalry between them.
“I’ve heard that he’s said something nice,” he said. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Kerr put on a brave face after winning silver, after admitting he only had gold in his sights.
He went out and partied until 4am on Tuesday nightto celebrate his achievement.
By the time he was finished with his medal ceremony, drug testing and media duties, he did not head out into the city until 11.30pm – but more than made up for it.
“It was difficult to find but just a pint was good,” added Kerr, who is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support – which has been vital on their pathway to the Paris 2024 Games.
“There was a lot of champagne getting handed around but I'm just a pint guy.”
Now, the hard work starts for the next Olympic cycle, but Kerr is not sure how much quicker he can get.
Ingebrigtsen set a searing pace out front, and Kerr sat on his shoulder, waiting to strike on the final lap.
It appeared Kerr had played it perfectly as he moved around the Norwegian to take the lead, but Ingebrigtsen responded by forcing Kerr out wide.
Kerr seemed certain to hang on to win but Hocker came charging through the gap on the inside to snatch gold in the final 10 metres.
“It seems like a long time away, LA,” Kerr added.
“Coming away with bronze three years ago felt like a stepping stone towards the place I wanted to be. Silver is another stepping stone towards what I want.”
Kerr’s time of 3:27.79 is a new British record, breaking the mark previously held by Sir Mo Farah.
Further behind, Glasgow’s Neil Gourley could only watch and admire the pace of the leading group and said he is motivated to catch up after finishing 10th.
With Keely Hodgkinson winning gold in the women’s 800m, this is becoming a golden age for British middle distance running and he wants a slice of the action.
“I wish I was more part of it,” he said.
“I have been on the fringes for a while, but I have not won a global medal yet. I think I can do it with a clear season without injury.
“We are feeding off the high standards and I just need to do my part more. I gave it my all to add to Britain’s success, but I am not there at the moment.”
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