Joe McConnell
Josh Kerr won silver in the men’s 1500 metres at the Paris Olympics, while American Cole Hocker beat British favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen to win gold.
Hocker produced the surprise of the Olympics, outpacing Kerr and Ingebrigsten to the finish line.
The final at the Stade de France was billed as the showdown of the century between the Scottish world champion and his arch-nemesis Ingebrigtsen, the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist.
The Norwegian immediately realised he was ahead and maintained the lead until the final lap, when Kerr made his move on the straight.
Just when it looked like Britain might clinch its second gold medal on the track, Hocker surged forward to snatch the title, while American Yared Nuguse took bronze, with Ingebrigtsen fourth.
The 23-year-old American won the race in an Olympic record time of 3:27.65, climbing from fifth to first in the final 300 meters and beating his personal best by more than three seconds.
He overtook Kerr, who clocked his fastest time ever with a new national record of 3:27.79, while Ingebrigsten, who had set the pace in the first 1200 meters, finished fourth behind American Yared Nuguse.
Kerr said BBC Sports: “I can’t leave the championship disappointed. Obviously, I said what my goals were, it was quite obvious.
“But today I had a performance that I’m extremely proud of. I focused on my controllables, I ran the fastest and best 1500m I’ve ever run in my life and so when you start worrying about what everyone else is doing based on the results, then you’re never going to be satisfied.
“Obviously it’s not the color of the medal I want, but I’m working to find the right color: from bronze to silver.”
Ingebrigtsen said: “My plan was to win. It didn’t go according to plan. But I felt very strong in the first two laps.
“I had a hard time figuring out the pace because it was pretty fast. But it was hard to slow down and slow down a bit.
“I saw I was starting to have a little gap and I kept pushing, but today it was just 100 meters too long. The guys behind me who finished in front of me had a great race. It’s not always easy to spend your energy wisely, but I felt strong and not the result I wanted.
“At 1500m the pace is so fast the whole race, especially with me starting so hard. You can’t really tell 100 percent when you’re hitting the wall before you hit it – it’s just a little too early today.”
Hudson-Smith Impresses in 400m Semi-Final
Matthew Hudson-Smith will aim for gold in Wednesday night’s 400m final
Matthew Hudson-Smith booked his place in Wednesday night’s 400m final with a dominant display in the semi-final at the Stade de France.
The Wolverhampton athlete immediately set off in pursuit of his challengers, taking a lead of a few metres in the final stretch.
He raced around the track to the finish line in 44.07 seconds, before slowing on the approach and pumping his fist after getting the job done.
This is the second Olympic final for the 29-year-old, who came last at the 2016 Rio Games and missed Tokyo 2020 due to injury.
She won her first major medal, a world bronze in 2022, before moving on to silver at last year’s World Championships in Budapest.
Charlie Dobson, the other British contender, failed to progress beyond the first semi-final.
At one point the 24-year-old held the lead as the men entered the home straight, before dropping back and working hard to recover and finish fourth in 44.48.
Laviai Nielsen’s Olympics ended in heartbreaking fashion when she fell at the final hurdle in the 400m hurdles semi-final.
The 28-year-old had a good chance of securing an automatic spot with a top-two finish, but ultimately found herself embroiled in a battle for third before ruling herself out.
Nielsen was part of the 4x400m medley relay team that won bronze for Great Britain on Saturday.
The evening session opened with the award ceremony for Monday night’s medal winners, including British 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson.
The Atherton athlete, who was presented with the gold medal by World Athletics president and double Olympic champion Lord Coe, shed a tear on the podium as “God Save the King” played.
Winfred Yavi of Bahrain won the gold medal in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Olympics.
Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai won silver, Kenya’s Faith Cherotich took bronze and Britain’s Lizzie Bird placed seventh.
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