On August 6, Cole Hocker left the track and field community gobsmacked with an upset win in the men’s 1500m final. The pre-race favorite, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, was leading for most of the race. But much to his dismay, he didn’t make it to the podium, with Josh Kerr walking away with an Olympic silver. However, after 16 days, the Norwegian seized his crown back by clinching a stellar win at the Lausanne Diamond League meet. Leading from the get-go, he set a meet record of 3:27.83.

Things got a little heated when the 23-year-old opened up about his DL experience in a post-race interview. “It’s almost two weeks since Paris, so that’s a lot of time to recover.” The Brit wasn’t present in Switzerland, the same as in the Monaco Diamond League prior to the Paris Olympics. “For some of the runners that compete in the 1500m, it’s 16 days.” What could the Norwegian middle-distance runner possibly mean by this?

The 23-year-old wasn’t done though. “So if you can’t recover from a three minute race in 16 days, then you have a big problem. But I think a lot of it is mental as well. We need to get back home and get a couple easy days, still get back on it, and try to recover and do a little bit of work.” After the Norwegian claimed the top spot on the podium, he turned to Hocker and stated, “I appreciate you coming out.” Could this be another dig at his Brit rival? We’ll never know for sure. 

Leading up to the Paris Olympics, Josh Kerr had missed out on the Monaco Diamond League as well. Even though the 23-year-old was looking forward to locking horns with the Brit. But since he was a no-show, Jakob Ingebrigtsen instead clinched an effortless win with a world lead time of 3:26:73 at the Stade Louis II in Monaco. While he didn’t get the chance to best his old nemesis before the Summer Games, things took a turn at the French capital.

A fleeting moment in Paris for Jakob Ingebrigtsen

Jakob Ingebrigtsen returned to the world’s biggest stage as the defending champion and the OR holder in the 1500m race. Everyone placed their bets on both him and Josh Kerr as the race favorites. But no one was prepared for the outcome. Much to the Norwegian’s dismay, he couldn’t defend both of those. Hocker crossed the finish line in 3:27:65, crushing the record and claiming the Olympic gold as his own. The Brit trailed behind him in 3:27:79. 

On the other hand, the 23-year-old trudged in 4th place with 3:28:24 on the clock. However, he did make up for it in the 5000m event. Pacing himself throughout the event, he made his move around the 400m mark. With a stellar time of 13:13:66, Ingebrigtsen made his way past the finish line claiming an Olympic gold. But 16 days later, he made sure he didn’t fall prey to that same fate in the 1500m at Lausanne though. This was truly his moment!