Finding the achilles heel of Jakob Ingebrigtsen: How Josh Kerr won the 1,500 meters! by Cathal Dennehy

Cathal Dennehy has written for us for over a decade. I never give him an assignment; we collaborate, mostly post articles. I have never second-guessed his columns, and I love this one. 

If two dots make a trend, then the past 18 months have firmly shown the way forward for all world-class 1500m runners not named Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

First, there was Ethiopia’s Samuel Tefera at last year’s World Indoors, and then there was Britain’s Jake Wightman at the World Championships in Oregon. Then along came Josh Kerr, the childhood clubmate of Wightman at Edinburgh AC, all of them taking on and taking down Ingebrigtsen in his one and only Achilles heel – the last 200m.

The thing Tefera, Wightman, and Kerr had in common? They all toed the line as huge underdogs, going up against the strength, speed, and tactical acumen of the Tokyo Olympic champion who, outside of those three races, has ruled the event with dictatorial dominance in the past 18 months, going 13 for 13 at either the mile or 1500m.

But when it mattered most, he was found wanting at his favored distance.

Yes, there were reasons. Let’s not call them excuses because Ingebrigtsen has always shown no-nonsense honesty in his dealings with the press, standing and answering a barrage of questions with a kind of patience and generosity that is sometimes lacking in his counterparts. For that, he deserves immense credit, giving the fans a window into his inner thoughts, his true self.

In Belgrade last year, Ingebrigtsen admitted he didn’t feel right from early in the world indoor 1500m final and after flying home the next day, he found out why, recording a positive test for Covid. In Oregon last July, he lost to Jake Wightman for many reasons. Ingebrigtsen had got drawn into a battle for the lead with his longtime nemesis, Timothy Cheruiyot, with Wightman coasting sensibly behind and saving his energy for one killer move with 200m to go. Ingebrigtsen had been softened up by Cheruiyot by the time Wightman landed his blow, the acceleration entering the final turn allowing him to break Ingebrigtsen’s rhythm. He never could claw his way back.

For all his dominance on the circuit, there was no real excuse for Ingebrigtsen that day. In the end, he lost to a better athlete, even if he did go on to say he had lost to an inferior one. Of course, better has many meanings. In paced races, there’s no doubt Ingebrigtsen is the best athlete right now. But championship finals are…