American emulates Matt Centrowitz to land Olympic crown, while world champion Josh Kerr has to settle for silver and Jakob Ingebrigtsen finishes outside of the medals

All of the pre-race hype had been about who would win the duel between Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr but, with all of the attention on the big two, Cole Hocker took the inside line to win a shock Olympic 1500m gold in Paris.

The American became his countrys first champion in this event since Matt Centrowitz in 2016 after a race that lived up to the considerable hype and left the Stade de France crowd breathless.

Hocker timed his finishing burst perfectly as he broke Ingebrigtsens Olympic record to take gold, removing almost three seconds from his personal best to clock 3:27.65. World champion Kerr broke the British record with 3:27.79 as he upgraded his bronze from Tokyo three years ago by the width of a vest from Yared Nuguse, the American producing a PB of 3:27.80.

Perhaps the biggest shock of the night, though, was the fact that Ingebrigtsen, the defending Olympic champion, finished outside of the medals completely.

Coming into the finishing straight, the script had been followed perfectly with the Norwegian and the Scot who have verbally goaded each other for the past year out in front and going toe to toe, stride for stride, with the Olympic prize in sight.

As they did so, however and as so often happens in middle distance races the leaders moved slightly wide and suddenly a gap emerged on the left. Hocker was only too happy to stride through it to have the last word.

Kerr had looked ready to add the Olympic title to his collection and this was not the outcome her had dreamed of. It wont feel nearly as painful, however, as the fate which befell the crestfallen Ingebrigtsen.

The European record-holder had emerged into the stadium looking supremely confident, raising one finger to the sky. He wasted little time in answering questions about how he might approach this race, too, when he went to the front after only around 80 metres.

After World Championships defeat to Jake Wightman in 2022 and then Kerr in 2023, he wanted to exert control as soon as possible, with Kenyan Brian Komen slotting in right behind him and Kerr keeping a close eye on proceedings from third place as the field covered the opening 400m in a searing 54.8 seconds that was inside world record pace.

The top three were unchanged by 800m, reached in 1:51.5, with Tokyo silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot fourth, Nuguse sixth and Hocker seventh.

At that stage Ingebrigtsen had established a big gap and looked like he was threatening to run away with the contest. He was reeled back in, though, and with 300m to go he held a narrow advantage over Cheruiyot, with Kerr a couple of metres back.

Had the world indoor champion left himself with too much to do? This was the time to make his move and Kerr began to surge towards the front, with Hocker following in his slipstream.

Round the final bend, Ingebrigtsen still held the lead but Kerr looked the stronger of the two. With both Cheruiyot and Komen now out of the running after their earlier exertions, the American challenge was building from behind.

Hocker made one attempt to get through with around 100m to go, but was forced to check his stride and lost momentum. It was Kerr, who began to edge clear of his rivals, that appeared to be on the brink of glory.

The 26-year-old began to strain, though, and as Hocker came through there was nothing left in the tank, with a photo finish needed to determine who had taken silver and bronze.

Ingebrigtsen stared up at the giant screens open-mouthed. It was an expression shared by much of the crowd.

Hobbs Kessler completed the American trio with 3:29.45 in fifth, while Niels Laros broke the Dutch record with 3:29.54 for sixth. Britains other finalist, Neil Gourley, was 10^th in 3:30.88.

I cant walk away from this disappointed, said Kerr. I said what my goals were and it was pretty obvious but Ive put out a performance today that I can be super proud of.

I ran the fastest and best tactical 1500m of my life and when you start worrying about what other people do from the results, youll never be satisfied. Its not the colour of medal I wanted but its working towards the right colour from bronze to silver.

Im 26, this road is not over. I wanted it today, I told you what I wanted and I didnt get it so theres going to be that part of me thats already looking ahead to the next one but Im really really proud of the way I executed today and thats going to have to be enough for now. Its left me really hungry and ready for more.

He added: I knew we had to weather a storm early, keep calm and making sure I was as emotionally as locked in as I could be. At 600 to go I felt like I had quite a lot left and I got pushed out slightly on the last bend. I had to work hard, got around Ingebrigtsen but there was so much running left at that point and its so hard to keep track of everyone in the last 100m. The result is what the result is but Im super proud of how I executed.

Ingebrigtsen, who will now compete in the 5000m, was magnanimous in defeat. Posting on Instagram, he said: Today, Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse and Josh Kerr outsmarted me. They were the best guys when it really mattered and I want to congratulate them all on a great performance.

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