Josh Kerr defeats Ingebrigtsen in a British mile record in Eugene

Kerr takes down Steve Cram’s 39-year-old national mark with 3:45.34 at the Prefontaine Classic as Keely Hodgkinson also enjoys a big win

The Bowerman Mile at the Pre Classic was dubbed the mile of the century and it didn’t disappoint as the world champion Josh Kerr broke Steve Cram’s long-standing British record to beat Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

With 3:45.34, Kerr beat Cram’s 39-year-old mark of 3:46.32. The 26-year-old did it in similar style to Cram’s iconic run in Oslo in 1985, too, confidently taking the lead a long way out and bounding down the home straight in a way that suggested he had more in the tank.

Runner-up Ingebrigtsen was pleased to run 3:45.60 after an injury-hit winter. The Norwegian will likely improve as the summer unfolds, building to a climactic Olympic final showdown in Paris in August and, who knows, maybe a tilt at Hicham El Guerrouj’s long-time world record of 3:43.13.

Behind the big two there were a host of fast times with nine men inside 3:50. Yared Nuguse of the United States once again showed his great consistency with 3:46.22 in third. Neil Gourley of Britain returned from injury and reminded us why he’s a top-flight contender as he clocked 3:47.74 in fourth. Fellow Brit Jake Wightman, the 2022 world champion and also on the comeback trail, was fifth in 3:47.83.

“I felt very strong through the first (kilometre) and I was like, you know what, it’s time to press and push and see what these guys have got,” said an ebullient Kerr.

As the race got underway, Ingebrigtsen settled into third at the end of the first lap behind Abel Kipsang of Kenya and pacemaker Abraham Alvarado of the United States as Alvarado passed the first 400m in 55.91. Kerr, meanwhile, was content to stay back in eighth.

Approaching 600m there was a moment of drama as Cole Hocker stumbled and it affected fellow American Hobbs Kessler, the latter stepping off the track, his race over. By 800m Alvarado still led in 1:52.74 from Kipsang and Ingebrigtsen with Kerr up to sixth, a stride behind Wightman.

Alvarado then began to draw away by a few metres and, as the main field began to slow and bunch a little, Kerr took the opportunity to move into the lead at 600m to keep the tempo going, with Ingebrigtsen, Nuguse and Wightman following in his slipstream.

It was a bold and surprising move and at the bell, reached in 2:50.70, this quartet had got a little daylight over the rest of the…