From cycling in Switzerland to altitude training in Albuquerque to world records and bad timing ailments, the world’s best 1500m men have had varied journeys en route to the Weltklasse.
Since his epic Olympic 1500m final in Paris, gold medalist Cole Hawker has been cycling and running in the mountains of Switzerland. Josh Kerr is back in training in Albuquerque. Likewise, Jared Nuguse returned to the United States before heading back to Europe for last weekend’s Dusseldorf Road Mile. Jakob Ingebrigtsen, meanwhile, enjoyed a revenge win over Hawker in Lausanne, broke the long-standing 3000m world record in Silesia, then went down with an infection.
The world’s best four-metre milers are literally hunting high and low for some seasonal success ahead of the Weltklasse in Zurich on Thursday (September 5).
There were no fireworks at the press conference at Letzigrund Stadium, about 30 hours before their much-anticipated race, but there was definitely tension in the air.
Notably, when Carey and Ingebrigtsen were stopped to list their rival’s best qualities, the Briton said: “The meaning of his clothes.”
Was Kerr being sarcastic? Maybe, but it was hard to tell. However, Ingebrigtsen seemed oblivious to any hidden meaning and countered with his “beautiful response” saying that Kerr “can run his best race when it really counts.”
For trash talk junkies, it was about as spicy as it gets. The biggest news, however, was Ingebrigtsen revealing that Norwegian media reports this week were true and that, yes, he had suffered an “infection” after his world record 3000m on August 25.
Cole Hawker (Getty)
“Everyone was telling me I shouldn’t be here or I shouldn’t be here,” he said, “but I was looking forward to all my races after Paris.
“Lausanne and Silesia are as important to me as any race. Of course I want to do the best I can to show up and hopefully have a good race, but sometimes the preparation isn’t always perfect. So, trying to do the best I can during my time off, I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus.
“I know I was good in Silesia and after a few days I felt pretty good. It’s a setback, though. What does that mean? I don’t know, but I’m here and I’m going to spend the next few hours smartly and hopefully I’ll be as good as possible tomorrow.”
Olympic 1500m final (River)
Kerr came across as quietly confident (though when does he ever look anything else?). He also recently visited the young athletes at his club in Edinburgh to “put something back into the sport” ahead of his first race since Paris.
Hawker, meanwhile, looked relaxed and seemed to be enjoying his status as Olympic champion. In recent days, he says it’s been good to be reunited with his long-time training partner Cooper Teare, the American who has been running at the modest meetings in Britain’s Bury and Stirling while Hawker has been riding a post-Olympic wave.
Hawker confirmed that the cycling sessions spotted on his SOVA YouTube channel were also no one-offs. He told AW: he bikes about two to four hours a week and that cross training is generally an important part of his training. He also swims regularly to complement his running training and says he really enjoys cycling, along with a love affair with watching the Tour de France, and has a friend who helps him access high-quality cycling equipment.
READ MORE. Top 10 of Weltklasse Zurich
Thursday night’s men’s 1,500m in Zurich will be won on two legs, not wheels. The pace is expected to be fierce with Elliott Giles, who broke the world mile record last weekend ahead of Nugus, the ‘second pacesetter’. Can we even see the runners approaching? Hicham El Gerouj’s world record: 3:26.00?
If the final of the Olympic Games was the metric mile of the century, then this is the sequel.
» For more AW news, CLICK HERE
The post Zurich is ready for the metric mile of the century, the “continuation”. appeared first AW:.
