Jakob Ingebrigtsen savaged over 'arrogant' act after massive boilover stuns fans at Olympics

It had been billed as gold medal showdown between reigning Olympic Games champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and defending world champion Josh Kerr in the final of the men's 1500m in Paris. One of the fiercest rivalries on the track had been talked up for days, with the supremely confident Ingebrigtsen toying with his rivals in two lead-up races before Wednesday morning's (AEST) final.

The problem is, Cole Hocker clearly didn't read the script as the American upstaged both of the pre-race favourites to claim gold in a massive boilover in Paris. Great Britain star Kerr snatched the lead on the home straight but Hocker timed his late surge to perfection, storming home to win the race and set a new Olympic Record in the process.

Kerr managed to hang onto second place to claim the silver, with Hocker's compatriot Yared Nuguse flying home in the final 200m to give the Americans two spots on the podium. Incredibly, it meant the brash-talking Ingebrigtsen - who fans accused of being 'arrogant' in the lead-up races - missed out on a medal altogether after finishing fourth.

Unlike the heats, where Ingebrigtsen gave up plenty of ground to his competitors before running them down one by one in the latter stages of the race, the Norwegian went with a completely opposite tactic in the final. The Tokyo 2020 rocketed to the front of the pack with a blistering opening lap but clearly went too hard and ran out of gas at the end. The Norwegian admitted afterwards that he got his tactics all wrong.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen admits he went out too fast in 1500m final

“I opened with a 54-second lap,” Ingebrigtsen pointed out. “That wasn’t the plan at all. It was at least two seconds too fast. I was thinking about slowing down, but the next lap was almost the same speed. I ruined it for myself by going way too hard.

“I felt really strong and I have had a good progression with races this year. I didn’t realise what pace it actually was. It was not the plan to open that hard... My plan was to win. But 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.

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“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."

Fans react as 'arrogant' Jakob Ingebrigtsen fails to medal

The result was a bitter blow for Ingebrigtsen, who was aiming to become the first man since World Athletics president Sebastian Coe in 1984 to successfully defend the Olympic men's 1500m title. Kerr would also be disappointed with silver after adding to the commentary before the final that suggested it was going to be a two-man race. But it was Ingebrigtsen who copped the brunt of backlash online, with fans insisting his 'arrogance' came back to bite him.

Cole Hocker flies home to snatch 1500m gold in huge upset

Ingebrigtsen led the field until the last 200m when he clearly started fading, and that presented the chance for Kerr to run on his outside shoulder and hit the front at the top of the final straight. But it was 23-year-old Hocker who was fastest when it mattered most, flying home on the inside to win in a new Olympic record time of three minutes 27.65 seconds, slashing more than three seconds off his personal best.

"Winning gold was my goal this entire year," Hocker said after the race. "I wrote that down and I repeated it to myself even if I didn't believe it. My performances showed me that I was capable of running 3:27, whatever it took. I knew I was a medal contender, and I knew that if I got it right, it would be a gold medal."

Ingebrigtsen admitted after the race that he didn't know when he was going to hit wall but that he should have reduced his pace on the opening lap. “Of course it’s a tactical error that I’m not able to reduce my pace the first 800,” Ingebrigtsen added. “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.”

with agencies