On August 6, before 8:50 p.m., there will be a few seconds of silence in the Stade de France.
Then there is no more talk. Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen can add nothing more. Unless there are any hiccups later, both titans of the middle distance running will prepare for the starting shot in the final of the 1500 meters Olympic Games.
From the moment the trigger is pulled, the blank fired into the Parisian night sky, the equation for the next three and a half minutes is simple. Man versus man. Britain versus Norway. The ultimate test of who wants it most. Who is prepared to dig deeper than ever before.
Will it be Ingebrigtsen, Olympic champion once again? Or Josh Kerr, the reigning world champion, adding Olympic gold to his medal haul?
“Growing up, I knew this was going to be the Olympic year where I would really try my best,” explains Kerr, who finished third behind Ingebrigtsen and Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot in the 1500 meters in Tokyo three years ago.
Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen will compete against each other at the Olympic Games in Paris
The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris (pictured above) begin next week on July 24
Ingebrigtsen poses for a photo next to the LED board showing his world best time
‘These are huge opportunities in my career and I’m happy to be fit and mentally available to chase the big medal.
“You have to take those chances. You have no guarantee that you will win tomorrow. I am the best 1500m runner in the world, so you have to think that this is a pretty good chance.”
As you may have gathered, Kerr is feeling quite confident about his encounter with destiny.
The 26-year-old Scot looks relaxed, if slightly red in the face, as he speaks to Mail Sport from Albuquerque, New Mexico, his training base and home base since he was 17.
“It’s so hot… it’s a nightmare, but it’s good for heat training and altitude training. I burn pretty much every day.”
He hopes those sacrifices will allow him to triumph in one of the fiercest rivalries in sport.
There is no heartbreak between Kerr and Ingebrigtsen, and neither man makes any effort to hide the fact.
It all began last summer, on a sultry Budapest evening, when Kerr passed Ingebrigtsen to claim World Championship gold. It was a remarkable and resounding achievement.
Almost an exact copy of what his British friend and compatriot Jake Wightman conjured up to defeat Ingebrigtsen, who until then was considered untouchable in his field, at the previous world championships in Oregon in 2022.
Kerr is one of nine British athletes whose journey to this summer’s Games has been followed by Channel 4 film crews in the run-up to the Olympics
Not one to shy away from difficult conversations, Kerr happily embraces his role as one of the leads in this compelling storyline.
The Norwegian attributed that failure to illness. Four days later, it should be noted, Ingebrigtsen was good enough to win gold in the 5000m.
The verbal sparring has never really stopped since, with Ingebrigtsen calling the Briton “just another” and Kerr accusing the Norwegian of disrespect. He knows there is only one place where the score can truly be settled.
“I’m sure the questions will never stop but I would say we’re both in a situation where we think we’re the best in the world and that’s going to make for some great racing and probably some very irritated people after the races, especially if they keep going my way,” Kerr said of Ingebrigtsen, who last week made a statement of intent by breaking his own European record at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
“But this is what gets me going. This is what gets me out of bed and what drives me to push myself to be the best when it comes to these races.
“We’re not the best of friends and that’s not an act. I don’t like him. But it’s not like I have anything against him. I want to win races, I’m here to win races and I think I’ll continue to do that.”
The pair met earlier this year at the Prefontaine Classic in a precursor to their duel in Paris. The race was billed as the ‘Mile of the Century’ with Kerr drawing first blood, beating Ingebrigtsen en route to shaving almost a second off Steve Cram’s previous British record of 3:46.32.
The rivalry and Kerr’s preparations for Paris will be examined in more detail in the coming weeks. Kerr is one of nine British athletes whose journey to this summer’s Games has been followed by Channel 4 film crews. The documentary will undoubtedly be fascinating to watch as Kerr steps in front of the cameras. Not one to shy away from difficult conversations, he is happy to embrace his role as one of the protagonists in this compelling storyline.
“I’m excited about races that people enjoy watching and that we create this rivalry,” he said. “If we go out there and we run for three and a half minutes, do a couple of interviews and then go home, people can just hold on to that or make their own opinions about people with very narrow views.
‘(The documentary) allows us to show our personality, who we are and be ourselves.’
The cameras will no doubt have captured the painstaking efforts of Kerr, a stickler for detail, to ensure that no stone is left unturned in his quest to topple Ingebrigtsen for the second summer in a row. Every eventuality has been meticulously planned.
“Things happen in these structures and you think, ‘What can we do to stay on task when everything else is going wrong?’”
‘Whether it’s a lost contact lens or a shoelace coming undone. In the semi-final of the 1500m at the world championships last year, (British teammate) Elliot Giles ripped his lace out of his spike. He was able to, with a few deep breaths, re-tie his spike and tie a knot.’
With Kerr busy plotting his path to gold, it seems wise to leave the preparations for his wedding to American fiancée Larimar later this year to professional planners. ‘It’s important to be able to be a bit of a human being outside of trying to be an Olympic champion,’ he explains. ‘My fiancée brings that to me. She’s my rock in this situation.’
But first, the small matter of Paris. Three and three-quarter laps for Kerr to prove, once again, that he is the best in the world.
Path to Paris: The Hunt for Gold airs on Channel 4 on Saturday at 4.55pm. The series follows British athletes as they prepare for Paris 2024 and provides insight into how National Lottery players are supporting them on their journey.