Kerr beats his greatest rival and the national record - but not Cole Hocker

By James Toney in Paris

Josh Kerr took down Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the race for the ages but forgot all about the American outsider on his inside.

Kerr clocked a new national record as he upgraded Tokyo 1500m bronze to silver but Cole Hocker saw that and raised it, stunning the Stade de France - and himself.

This instant classic was wrongly billed as a straight shoot-out between Kerr and Ingebrigtsen, whose deep-seated and increasingly nasty rivalry is anything but friendly.

World champion Kerr wore golden spikes while world number one Ingebrigtsen defiantly rose a single finger to the sky when introduced to the crowd, the race live on Discovery+.

Kerr called it a 'war' but war, to borrow a quote, does not determine who is right - only who is left. And, following the most talked about Olympic middle-distance race in four decades, Hocker was the victor with the spoils.

"I can't walk away from a championship disappointed," insisted Kerr, who clocked 3:27.79 to erase Mo Farah's British record.

"I said what my goals were and it was pretty obvious but I've put out a performance that I can be super proud of.

"I ran the fastest and best tactical 1500m of my life and when you start worrying about what other people do, you'll never be satisfied.

"I knew we had to weather a storm early, keep calm and making sure I was as emotionally as locked in as I could be, it's so hard to keep track of everyone in the last 100m.

"It's not the colour of medal I wanted but it's working towards the right colour from bronze to silver."

Ingebrigtsen released a single “Ingen gjør det bedre” (“Nobody does it better”) pre-Games but found three were and didn't even medal, American Yared Nuguse completing the most improbable podium of these Games.

But what next for the Norwegian? There is now a firm trend of him bullying opponents in minor races but fading under the bright lights, his talk rather cheap when it really matters.

After winning in Tokyo, he'd started favourite in the last two world finals but lost them both to Scots, Jake Wightman in Oregon and Kerr, last year, in Budapest.

He took the pace out hard, leading from the front until the final bend when the lactic burned and his hopes went up in smoke.

Kerr hit the front, having seemingly got his tactics spot on, only to find Hocker hit the burners, his winning time of 3:27.65 a new Olympic record.

"My plan was to win but it didn't go according to plan," said Ingebrigtsen, who at least won a gold for stating the obvious.

"I felt very strong in the first couple of laps. I saw I was building a gap so I kept on pushing but it was just 100m too long. The guys finishing in front of me ran a great race.

"It's not always easy to spend your energy wisely. You can't tell if you've judged it right till you hit the wall and I just hit it a little too early."

Kerr is just 26 and Ingebrigtsen and Hocker only 23. In four years time in Los Angeles they could be at the peak of their powers and the sequel to the 'race for the ages' is set to be box office.

"It's left me really hungry and ready for more," added Kerr.

"This road is not over and I'm already looking ahead to the next one.

"I've medalled in every major championship in the last four years bar one, I'm secure in myself. I will get the medal I want by the end of my career, so here's to Los Angeles.

"I wanted the gold, I got silver. That’s better than bronze and better than nothing."

Hocker was a 30-1 shot pre-race and wore an expression of shock as he blinked into the flashbulbs and a sea of microphones.

He was not a reluctant champ but he was certainly unexpected - not even on a long list of medal hopes here for a US team that have struggled in comparison to previous Games.

"I can't even put it into words," he said. "I haven't soaked in the moment yet, I'm sure it will take a while.

"It was unlike anything I've experienced. This is by far the loudest stadium I've ever been in, it was deafening.

"It's so rare I notice anything like that during a race but this was just so overwhelming in a good way. I just saw the line and my body did the rest."

Watch every moment of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live only on discovery+, the streaming home of the Olympics.