IT WAS A RACE to forever remember, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen made it happen, even though his bold plan backfired and he was left without a medal. Instead, Cole Hocker celebrated after a stunning inside stretch run that led to gold in an Olympic Record in the best U.S. team finish in over 100 years.
A dream field that lined up on a balmy night in the Stade de France — the defending champion from Tokyo in Ingebrigtsen; the ’21 silver medalist in Timothy Cheruiyot; the ’23 world champion in Josh Kerr; plus three Americans, all of them medalists at the World Indoor. Of sub 3:30 runners, there were 6 — a number that would have been unimaginable in the pre-super shoes era.
Ingebrigtsen shot to the lead before the end of the first 100, killing any suspense about what kind of race we would see; the only mystery was how it would turn out. With a recent PR of 3:26.73, the fastest in the field by more than a second-and-a-half, the Norseman ostensibly had an advantage, though most of his best times have come with pacers and wavelights. Deciding to be his own rabbit was a bold, and dangerous, move.
Behind him, the field strung out in almost single file: Kenya’s Brian Komen, Kerr, Cheruiyot, and Americans Hobbs Kessler and Yared Nuguse. Hocker ran farther back, but before the end of the first lap moved to join his teammates.
A sobering 54.82 for the opening lap showed just how committed Ingebrigtsen was to his plan. His second circuit took just 56.56, passing 800 in 1:51.38. That was enough for Komen, who hit a wall and started slowing, creating an obstruction as the field had to flow around him. That’s when Hocker chose to move, blocking Kessler’s momentum just as he was trying to get past the fading Kenyan.
Ingebrigtsen kept his foot on the gas, passing 1000 in 2:19.4. At the bell in 2:34.3, the top 3 mirrored the Tokyo podium: Ingebrigtsen, Cheruiyot and Kerr. They were followed by the three Americans, Nuguse, Hocker and Kessler. At 1200, the clock read 2:47.27 as Kerr moved to pass Cheruiyot. Hocker challenged Nuguse, and the two moved past the Kenyan before the end of the backstretch.
With 200 to go, Ingebrigtsen shot a look over his shoulder only to experience the déjà vu of seeing Kerr coming on fast. He held him off around the curve, while Hocker tried to get…
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