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Jakob Ingebrigtsen admits he “hit the wall” and got his timing wrong after suffering a shock upset in a thrilling 1500m final at the Olympics.
A race billed as a battle between two great rivals; the Norwegian and Josh Kerr have been embroiled in a furious war of words ever since the Briton claimed gold at the world championships last year.
But as Kerr snatched the lead on the home straight, Cole Hocker pounced with a perfectly-timed kick to win gold in an Olympic record time.
And with USA teammate Yared Nuguse coming home strong to win bronze, Ingebrigtsen was left with the strange feeling of no medal at all.
“My plan was to win,” Ingebrigtsen told the BBC. “It didn’t go according to plan but I felt very strong in the first couple of laps and that’s why I had difficulty telling the pace because it was quite fast.
“It was difficult to slow down and kind of reduce myself a little bit. I was starting to get a little bit of gap so kept on pushing but it was just 100m too long today.
“The guys behind me, finishing in front of me did a great race. It’s not always easy to spend your energy wisely but I felt strong and of course not the result I wanted.”
Ingebrigtsen would then go into detail about the troubling final 200m as his rivals surpassed him with the finish line in sight.
“It depends because in the 1500m, the pace is so strong in the whole race,” he added. “Especially with me opening so strong.
“You can’t really tell when you’re hitting the wall when you hit it. It was just a little bit too early today.”
Ingebrigtsen would briefly stop to speak to the media, also conceding he put “a little bit too much on the gas”.
“Of course it’s a tactical error that I’m not able to reduce my pace the first 800,” Ingebrigtsen said. “It’s just a little too hard.
“I think I saw on the back straight with probably 650 to go that they were opening a little bit of a gap, so I tried to respond by going just a little bit too much on the gas. Just 100 meters too much today.”
Ingebrigtsen will have his shot at redemption in the 5000m at Paris 2024, a title he also won three years ago in Tokyo.
But an opportunity to hit back against Hocker and Kerr will arrive later this month at the Lausanne Diamond League on 22 August.
The Zurich Diamond League on 5 September follows before the finals across two days in Brussels on 13-14 September.
