Over 1500m, Jakob Ingebrigtsen removed himself from the podium – Libération

2024-08-06 20:44:32

The reigning Olympic champion, Norwegian, the favorite, finished 4th on Tuesday August 6. The race was won by American Cole Hocker, who set an Olympic record.

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All the experts know it and not only them: talent is not enough, on the sports track, to find victory and bring it back with you holding your hand. The head can also help a lot. Jakob Ingebrigtsen, recognized as the purest middle distance jeweler of his generation from a young age, knows this. But, for a reason that he would be too weak to explain himself, the Norwegian seems to have forgotten this obvious fact of high sport. He left his head in the call room, taking only his legs with him.

Tuesday August 6, for example. At the Stade de France, for the Olympic 1500m final. On paper, the race looked promising for him. At the age of 23, he became an Olympic champion. The best time, the time of 3’26′’73 held last month in Monaco, placed him in 4th place in history, less than one second from the world record of Morocco (3’26′ ’00). Jakob Ingebrigtsen has everything. Starting with too much confidence, often ends in arrogance. “Josh Kerr? A guy like any other, I didn’t notice him at all”he has been recovering since last year in reference to his British rival, who did not win the world title in Budapest last August.

“I ruined everything myself”

The Norwegian took his feet to the front of the race from the first steps of the Olympic final. He sat in the front, as he sat in the front of the bus on a group trip. The best place to see everything. Leadership is a hell of a pace. To stop the competition, increase your speed and keep all the cars unlocked one by one. Only problem, but an important one: Jakob Ingebrigtsen does not discriminate anyone. He made the game harder, but he couldn’t kill it.

Result: The final cycle doesn’t really match your personal scenario. And the straight line of your images will revive for a long time, but in the worst nightmares. The Norwegian could not resist Josh Kerr’s attack. There is no more resistance to the claims of the American Cole Hocker. And, in the ultimate struggle, he saw another American, Yared Nuguse, steal the bronze medal from him. Jakob Ingebrigtsen finished 4th. Stupid place. After such a race, the word is not an exaggeration. It even fits him like a glove. “I ruined everything myself», summed up the Norwegian.

Cole Hocker manned the smelter

The winner? Cole Hocker. Defender. Track record as thin as a sheet of silk – 6th at the Tokyo Games 2020, 7th at the Worlds 2023 -, personal best at 3’30′’70, a high-sport journey to write. Originally from Indiana, Cole Hocker discovered running in elementary school, in the mud of cross country. It’s not very sweet, but you love it. Until the announcement for his father, when he returned from a race, his desire to make it his career, to go and train in Oregon, the Mecca of sports in the United States, and later to become an Olympian. Cole Hocker is a devout Christian. He prayed long before his races and never forgot to thank God for giving him the talent for middle distance.

The American made his victory better with the Olympic record (3’27′’65). It gives its title all the respect it deserves. “It’s an amazing feeling, he confided after leaving the track. JI had the view that the stadium and God carried me. My body did it for me. All my heart is with me, it shows me the finish line. I know I can apply for a medal. And I know that, if I succeed, it will be gold.” Cole Hocker has legs. It’s not just the feet.