Josh Kerr sets British record as he beats Jakob Ingebrigtsen at Prefontaine Classic, Keely Hodgkinson wins 800m
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Published 25/05/2024 at 22:59 GMT
Josh Kerr beat middle-distance rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen over the mile at the Diamond League in Eugene, while British team-mate Keely Hodgkinson won the 800m. Kerr set a British record of 3:45.34 as he won his race, condemning Ingebrigtsen to second. Hodgkinson’s victory was as impressive, with the 22-year-old recording the third-fastest time of her career to beat world champion Mary Moraa.
'One of the great performances!' - Kerr stuns Ingebrigtsen to win 1500m gold
British athletes enjoyed a successful day at the Diamond League in Eugene, with Josh Kerr and Keely Hodgkinson both winning.
Kerr came up against middle-distance rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the men’s mile race at the Prefontaine Classic.
While Ingebrigtsen is the reigning 1500m Olympic champion, Kerr pipped the Norwegian to the world title last year.
He was triumphant again in Eugene, setting a British mile record of 3:45.34. This surpassed Steve Cram’s time of 3:46.32, which was set in 1985.
Ingebrigtsen finished second in 3:45.60, while Yared Nuguse of the United States placed third in 3:46.22.
Hodgkinson won the women’s 800m earlier in the day, surging past world champion Mary Moraa in the final 200m.
She recorded the third-fastest time of her career as she crossed the finish line in 1:55.78, with Moraa trailing in 1:56.71.
Hodgkinson was joined on the podium by British team-mate Jemma Reekie, who placed third in 1:57.45.
The 22-year-old’s victory bodes well for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where Hodgkinson is hoping to upgrade her silver medal from Tokyo 2020 with gold.
Moraa will be one of her main rivals at the Games, live on Eurosport and discovery+, along with reigning Olympic champion Athing Mu.
Hodgkinson recently told the BBC that she enjoyed the competitiveness between the trio.
"I think it's a good rivalry," she said. "It's quite exciting for us all because we're all so young, we're all really talented, we work hard and we all really want it.
"I've really grown up and I have a lot of experience now. I’m really excited. I've spent three years trying to find those little tiny one per cents.
"I’ve trained so much harder than I did three years ago and I just hope that it's enough."
Meanwhile, Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith finished third in the women’s 100m in Eugene with a time of 10.98, behind Sha’Carri Richardson in 10.83 and Julien Alfred in 10.93.
Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah appeared to struggle as she finished ninth.
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