Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen went some way to forgetting his Olympic blip in the 1500m when he beat American Cole Hocker in Thursday’s Diamond League meet in Lausanne.
The Norwegian had been an odds-on favourite for Olympic gold in Paris, but misjudged his early pace, burning himself out to allow Hocker in for gold.
Ingebrigtsen eventually finished fourth as Britain’s Josh Kerr and Yared Nuguse of the US also passed him in the closing metres.
Ingebrigtsen did, however, rebound to win the Olympic 5,000m title and took another big step to redemption over the shorter distance with a dominant victory.
“It’s been almost two weeks since Paris so there was plenty of time to recover,” Ingebrigtsen said.
“For me a lot of it has been mental including going home, taking some easy days and then getting back to work.
“Tonight’s race gave me good answers and I’m looking forward to building on this for my next race on Sunday and the rest of the season.”
Ingebrigtsen heads straight to Poland where he will attempt to break Daniel Komen’s world record of 7:20.67 in the 3,000m at the Silesia Diamond League.
Slovenian Zan Rudolf set the early pace in Lausanne, Ingebrigtsen at the front of the pack.
Ireland’s Luke McCann then took up the running and when he faded, the Norwegian accelerated to the front, Americans Hobbs Kessler and then Hocker on his coattails.
Ingebrigtsen led going through the bell for the final lap, the two Americans in his slipstream.
Hocker tried to respond at the 150m mark, but there was no catching the Norwegian.
Ingebrigtsen clocked a meet record of 3min 27.83sec for the win at packed Stade Olympique de la Pontaise in balmy conditions, with Hocker second in 3:29.85 and Kessler rounding out the podium (3:30.47).
Hocker had no complaints with his second place and embraced Ingebrigtsen after the race, the pair sharing a word before embracing again.
“It’s my second best time ever, so I can’t complain,” the American said.
“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.”
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