Jakob Ingebrigtsen Defeats Cole Hocker in Olympic 1500 Rematch in Lausanne
Ingebrigtsen crushed Hocker over the final 200 to win in 3:27.83
By Jonathan Gault
In the end, the Olympic rematch was no contest.
With half a lap remaining in the men’s 1500 meters at tonight’s Athletissima Lausanne Diamond League meet, Jakob Ingebrigtsen led and Cole Hocker trailed close behind in third, their exact positions at the same spot in the Olympic final in Paris 16 days ago. The stage was set for Hocker to unleash the now world-famous kick that carried him to gold at the Stade de France.
But there would be no Olympic repeat. Ingebrigtsen blasted Hocker and everyone else over the final 200 meters, closing in 26.86 to win by more than two seconds in a meet record of 3:27.83. Ingebrigtsen has failed to win a global 1500m championship since his Olympic title in 2021, but his Diamond League record remains impeccable: over the last three years, Ingebrigtsen has won 14 of his 15 DL races across all distances. In paced races, the title of Ingebrigtsen’s recently-released single rings true: Nobody Does It Better.
Hocker, racing for the first time since his Olympic triumph, was second in 3:29.85, the best Diamond League finish and second-fastest time of his career behind only his 3:27.65 from Paris. Fellow American Hobbs Kessler, who ran in second until Hocker swung around him with 140m to go, was 3rd in 3:30.47. Like Hocker, this was his best DL result ever and fastest time ever aside from his 3:29.45 from the Olympic final.
Courtesy Diamond League AG
The race played out as most Diamond League 1500m races do these days, with Ingebrigtsen moving to the front early and the rest of the field more than happy to let him lead. Coming in, there had been some talk of Hicham El Guerrouj’s 3:26.00 world record, but the pace lights were set “only” for Ingebrigtsen’s 3:26.73 world leader, and early on it became clear even that would be too much. Ingebrigtsen allowed a gap to form to the two pacers after 300 meters, one that would only shrink when the pacers threw on the brakes, allowing Ingebrigtsen to latch back on at 700 meters.
By 800 (1:51.14 for the pacers), Ingebrigtsen, Kessler, Hocker, and Stewart McSweyn had broken away to form a group of four, and by the bell McSweyn was gone and it was down to Ingebrigtsen and the two Americans. Kessler stalked Ingebrigtsen closely on the first turn, and for a second the Norwegian looked vulnerable.
But as Ingebrigtsen pressed on, the 55-second laps began to take their toll on his rivals, and as he upped the pace on the final turn, Kessler was helpless to respond, closing in just 29.28 for his last 200. Hocker had been slow to respond to Ingebrigtsen’s move at 200, meaning that Ingebrigtsen already had a four-meter gap by the time he passed Kessler with 140 to go. But it did not matter in the end as Ingebrigtsen was far stronger, running 54.62 for his final 400 and 26.86 for his final 200 to Hocker’s 56.17 and 28.36.
Results
| 1 | 1 | NOR |
INGEBRIGTSEN Jakob
|
3:27.83
MR
|
1 | 31 | 3:26.73 | 3:26.73 |
| 2 | 15 | USA |
HOCKER Cole
|
3:29.85 | 12 | 9 | 3:27.65 | 3:27.65 |
| 3 | 14 | USA |
KESSLER Hobbs
|
3:30.47 | 16 | 6 | 3:29.45 | 3:29.45 |
| 4 | 6 | KEN |
CHERUIYOT Reynold
|
3:30.88
SB
|
5 | 14 | 3:31.96 | 3:30.30 |
| 5 | 7 | KEN |
KOMEN Brian
|
3:31.41 | 3 | 18 | 3:28.80 | 3:28.80 |
| 6 | 11 | BEL |
VERMEULEN Jochem
|
3:31.74
NRPB
|
21 | 3 | 3:33.30 | 3:33.30 |
| 7 | 13 | FRA |
HABZ Azeddine
|
3:31.89 | 4 | 17 | 3:30.80 | 3:29.26 |
| 8 | 8 | NED |
NILLESSEN Stefan
|
3:32.16 | 28 | 1 | 3:30.75 | 3:30.75 |
| 9 | 10 | POR |
NADER Isaac
|
3:32.49 | 10 | 10 | 3:30.84 | 3:30.84 |
| 10 | 5 | SUI |
LOBALU Dominic Lokinyomo
|
3:34.39
PB
|
3:35.50 | 3:35.22 | ||
| 11 | 4 | AUS |
McSWEYN Stewart
|
3:34.80
=SB
|
20 | 4 | 3:34.80 | 3:29.51 |
| 12 | 12 | AUS |
HOARE Oliver
|
3:36.03 | 8 | 13 | 3:31.07 | 3:29.41 |
| 13 | 9 | GBR |
MILLS George
|
3:36.80 | 14 | 9 | 3:31.57 | 3:30.95 |
| DNF | 3 | IRL |
McCANN Luke
2nd PM – 1K 2:18.5 |
3:33.66 | 3:33.66 | |||
| DNF | 2 | SLO |
RUDOLF Zan
1st PM – 800m 1:50.5 |
3:43.23 | 3:41.75 |
Quick Take: Ingebrigtsen remains the king of the Diamond League circuit
We have seen over the last three years that athletes can reach and exceed Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s level at a major championship. But what sets Ingebrigtsen apart from his peers is his ability to maintain a ridiculously high level for months at a time. Ingebrigtsen ran a 3:45.60 mile in his season opener on May 25, ran 3:26.73 for 1500 in Monaco on July 12, and now 3:27.83 in Lausanne on August 22.
And he’s far from done. Ingebrigtsen will run a 3000m in Silesia on Sunday, the 1500 in Zurich on September 5, and presumably the 1500 and/or 5000 at the Diamond League final in Brussels on September 13-14.
It should be noted that Josh Kerr has also raced at an extremely high level throughout 2024, running an 8:00 indoor 2-mile world record in February, winning World Indoors in March, running a 3:45 mile to beat Ingebrigtsen at Pre in May, and beating Ingebrigtsen for the Olympic silver medal in Paris. The difference is that Kerr races far less than Ingebrigtsen – Kerr did not run the European Championships (where Ingebrigtsen doubled in the 1500/5000), did not run Monaco, and did not run in Lausanne tonight.
Tonight’s race must have been how Ingebrigtsen drew up the Olympic final in his mind, with Hocker fading in the final 200 in a 3:27 race as the hot pace took its toll. Hocker was actually faster through 1100 tonight (2:33.7) than he was in Paris (2:34.3), which may explain why he could only close in 56.17 for his final lap tonight as opposed to 53.35 at the Olympics.
Fortunately for Hocker, he timed his peak perfectly for Paris and was able to run 3:27 when he needed it.
Update by Robert Johnson at 9:28 pm ET. There were two key differences between tonight and in the Paris Olympics. Tonight, the first 300 was much slower for Ingebrigtsen (42.3 vs 41.1) and the middle laps were faster (55s vs 56s). Secondly, Hocker’s close was much slower tonight than in Paris (56.17 vs 53.35). If Hocker closed tonight in Lausanne like he did in Paris, he would have won. The question that remains to be answered in future is simple, ‘Will Hocker and others be able to close as fast as they did in the Olympics if the middle laps are 55s and not 56s like they were at the Olympics?”
Tonight, Ingebrigtsen’s first 300 was basically 1.2 seconds slower than it was in Paris but his final 1200 was 1.6 seconds faster. Contrast that to Hocker, tonight his first 300 was roughly 0.7 seconds slower than his first 300 in the Olympics and his final 1200 was also roughly 1.5 seconds slower than in Paris.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen closed his last 300m in 40.76 in Lausanne to clock 3:27.83.
As in Paris, he was 1:51 at 800 and 2:47 at 1200.
The last 300s from Paris:
Hocker: 39.65 (3:27.65)
Kerr: 40.19 (3:27.79)
Nuguse: 39.80 (3:27.80)
Ingebrigtsen: 40.96 (3:28.24)📸 @matthewquine pic.twitter.com/RrtBP4ztLJ
— Cathal Dennehy (@Cathal_Dennehy) August 22, 2024
Quick Take: Ingebrigtsen was very grateful Hocker was here
Ingebrigtsen’s post-race celebration was a little different tonight than his last DL victory in Monaco, where he flexed his biceps for the camera to celebrate joining the 3:26 club. This time around, Ingebrigtsen found Hocker, shook his hand, then threw his arm around him and told him, “I appreciate you coming out.”
Later, Ingebrigtsen told NRK, “It’s cool that so many show up and don’t hide away after such a big championship as the Olympics.”
Ingebrigtsen has often spoken about how he believes it is important for the best athletes to race frequently, notably calling out Josh Kerr as “the Brit who never competes” before the Olympics. Kerr, notably, skipped the Diamond League final after defeating Ingebrigtsen at Worlds last year – though Kerr did run the 1500 in Zurich immediately after the 2023 Worlds, a meet Ingebrigtsen did not participate in.
Ingebrigtsen will get another crack at Kerr in two weeks as both are entered in the 1500 in Zurich, which also includes Hocker and Olympic bronze medalist Yared Nuguse.
Quick Take: The Americans still ran well in this one
Ingebrigtsen may be able to run 3:27 consistently but almost no one else in history has been able to do that. Hocker and Kessler were convincingly beaten by Ingebrigtsen, but they beat everyone else and both men logged their second-best times ever. Hocker, obviously, is going to want to win every time out now that he is the Olympic champion, but both he and Kessler acquitted themselves well this evening.
“3:29.85, my second best ever, so I can’t complain,” Hocker told meet organizers. “Considering the overwhelming past two weeks, it was a solid race. Physically I felt comfortable, but mentally, it’s a new challenge being announced as Olympic champion. I felt the pressure but I’m excited about how things are shaping up. I was ready for whatever pace the race demanded, and I executed well. With another two weeks of practice ahead, I’m focused on getting my mental game right.”
“The event was awesome, I’m super happy to be here,” Kessler said. “The race went smoothly but I just need a little more training to stay with the leaders. I’m planning to race a few more times this season then focusing on getting stronger for next year.”
Discuss this race on the LetsRun.com messageboard
- Jakob 3:27.83
- Jakob will NEVER get 1500m WR
- What did Jakob say to Cole after reestablishing his dominance at Lausanne DL?
- Without a Doubt, Jakob is still the best 1500m runner in the world.
- Lausanne DL 1500m
- Lausanne Diamond League Live Thread: Hocker vs Ingebrigtsen 2-4pm eastern + live reaction show 4 pm ET
- Cole MF Hocker outkicks hobbs kessler for 2nd place!!
- Cole Hocker greatest tactician of this era?
- Cole Hocker cocky on the Lausanne DL Press Conference is Jakob losing another 1500M?
- Kerr dodging again?
