“The 1500 was epic!” Pete Kay exclaimed as I was walking into Lolitia’s Market early last week. Grabbing my arm, he continued, “What a race!” The Paris Olympic men’s Olympic 1500 meter final Kay was referring to — so outstanding that it stands out among so many outstanding events in Paris — was indeed some race. It was an “epic” confrontation that had all the elements of an instant classic: a not-so-friendly rivalry between defending Olympic gold medalist Jakob Ingebrigtsen and World Championship gold medalist Josh Kerr; a deep, fast field; courageous front-running; savvy racing strategy; and a sprint finish anyone would get excited about, runner or non-runner.
There was also an Olympic bronze medal for Boulder’s Yared Nuguse, who came oh-so-close to the gold medal, won by his teammate, Cole Hocker. The third U.S.
runner, Hobbs Kessler, placed fifth. “It was like a horse race,” said Skyler Schlageck, the local On tech rep, even more excited than a typical fan, because Nuguse is sponsored by On and competes for the Boulder-based On Athletic Club. Schlageck’s horse-racing analogy is a good one, summing up the way the finalists sprinted for the inside of lane 1 at the start.
The outspoken — some say boastful — Ingebrigtsen was in front nearly the entire race in an attempt to dull the finishing kick of Kerr and the others. The Norwegian star led the field through a blazing first 400 meters of 54 seconds and passed 800 meters in 1:51. ‘Whoa,’ I thought while watching the coverage, as you might have, too.
‘What is going on?’ What we saw “was a true 1500 meter race” and not the kind of sit-for-three laps and kick race typical of most championship finals, said Mark Plaatjes, the 1993 World Championship marathon gold medalist. Like many of us, he was still talking about the race when I visited his store, In Motion, days later. “Give Ingebrigtsen credit; he made the race.
” Ingebrigtsen’s focus on arch-rival Kerr left an opening for Hocker to pass on the inside with a windmill sprint just meters from the tape, said Hank Church, who leads training groups from Fleet Feet in preparation for next month’s Boulderthon. “It’s a lesson in how to focus on your own race. That’s something we can all learn from.
” Jeremiah LaDuca, a Georgia Tech civil engineering grad student training in Boulder for the summer, said what he’s learned the importance of cross training while following Hocker’s career and having been at races with him. LaDuca said he’s “focusing on all parts of my running,” including strength work. At his job in Denver, LaDuca said co-workers not connected to running at all were talking about the race.
“Oh my goodness, the 1500 was nuts, ” he said, adding that Hocker’s final 100 meters was an incredible 11 seconds. “It makes me so happy to see people pursuing their dreams. Everyone was talking about the race.
It was cool to see.” In a post-race interview on FloTrack, a beaming Nuguse said, “I really felt like I left it all out there on the track, which is the realistic goal of the Olympics. It was a real surreal moment.
” In a later interview with Citius Magazine, Nuguse, 25, added, “I got to watch the race back a couple of times now and I’m like, I can’t believe I did that.” The entire Paris Olympics were cool, said Berthoud’s Jim Miller, who attended the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games and recalls meeting all the members of the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic “Miracle on Ice” gold-medal winning hockey squad as a youngster. He’s been a fan ever since, sensing something special that transcends individuals and somehow connects us all.
“The Olympics show that it is not all about sports, about winning and losing,” said Miller. “Watching the track races or (U.S.
gymnast) Simon Biles on the floor exercises, we’re seeing the Olympic spirit, something more than the results. The Olympics represent the best of humanity, and Paris showed me that the world is a loving place.” Follow Sandrock on Instagram: @MikeSandrock.
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