Why is there a feud between Team GB's Josh Kerr and Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen?

Kerr and Ingebrigtsen run in a men's 1500 metre semi-final at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Credit: AP

Excitement is building for another evening of Olympic athletics in the Stade de France - but for two runners, it's personal.

Team GB's Josh Kerr and Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen will battle it out during the men's 1500m final on Tuesday evening, in the latest installment of the pair's long-running feud.

But why do the two athletes dislike each other so openly and what is at stake? ITV News explains.


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Where did it all begin?

It is impossible to determine exactly when the two athletics stars began their rivalry.

But during the World Athletics competition in 2022, Ingebrigtsen slighted Kerr's childhood friend and fellow Brit runner Jake Wightman, describing him as a "lesser athlete."

It came after Wightman pipped him at the post in the 1500m final during the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States.

Ingebrigtsen and Kerr faced off during the same event in 2023, this time at the championships in Budapest.

In the semi-final, Ingebrigtsen gestured to the crowd to get up in their seats before storming ahead of Kerr to win the heat - a move some branded disrespectful.

Yet in the final, just days later, Kerr beat him.

Ingebrigtsen then blamed his loss on illness, something he was criticised for by those who believed it detracted from Kerr's win.

He said: “Not being 100 percent and not feeling 100 percent when it really matters, it’s disappointing."

What have they said about each other?

The pair have since made jabs at one another.

Speaking to the Sunday Plodcast, Kerr implied Ingebrigtsen was a "victim of his own ego" with regards to recent losses.

“I was like, ‘Oh, you have no idea. You must be surrounded by so many ‘yes men’ that you don’t realize that you have weaknesses and I think that was part of his downfall,” he said.

Josh Kerr during the World Athletics Indoor Championships at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow in March 2024. Credit: AP

Earlier this year, Ingebrigtsen told Norweigan broadcaster TV2 he could beat Kerr "blindfolded" in a 3000m race.

Despite the rivalry, Ingebrigtsen said at the time that they've never actually spoken.

He said: “I just think some things that they’re saying are on the border of lying and maybe being a coward, because nobody’s told me anything to my face.”

Kerr said he wasn't bothered by the dispute, and said: “He’s trying to be the best in the world and so am I, and if that ruffles some feathers that’s OK with me."

What about their running abilities?

Jakob Ingebrigtsen reacts after qualifying in the men's 1500m semi-final at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Credit: AP

Ingebrigtsen set the Olympic record for 1500m in 2021, finishing with a time of 3:28.32. Kerr clinched bronze in the same event, with a time of 3:29.05.

At Oregon's world championships in 2022, Ingebrigtsen finished second place behind Wightman, with Kerr coming fifth.

2023's championships marked Kerr's win against Ingebribtsen, with the Brit winning with a time of 3:29.38.

Ingebrigtsen was hot on his heels, however, coming second place and finishing in 3:29.65.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's final, Kerr said: “They [fans] should be expecting one of the most vicious and hardest 1500m this sport has seen for a very long time.

“I am ready to go after it. I think we all are. There has been a lot of talk and words over the last 12 months, even two years. I am looking to settle that and give it my best performance. I will show that in the final.”

The men's 1500m final will start at around 7:50pm UK time.


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