Josh Kerr expects 1500m final to be ‘most vicious and hardest’ in recent memory

Josh Kerr vowed to deliver a 1500 metres showdown for the ages after seeing himself through to the gold medal race second behind Norwegian arch-nemesis Jakob Ingebrigtsen in their semi-final.

Tuesday night’s battle is one of the most hotly-anticipated events of the Paris Olympics, the boiling point after years of pot-stirring between the bitter rivals, whose relationship World Athletics president Lord Coe earlier in the week described as “probably not a friendship made in heaven”.

The pair seemed to exchange a glance at the finish line, Ingebrigtsen first in 3:32.38 then Kerr in in 3:32.46 as they closed the curtain on the dress rehearsal for their grand finale.

Kerr declared: “They should be expecting one of the most vicious and hardest 1500 metres 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 on Tuesday and give it my best performance.

“This is my fifth major championship final. I don’t miss these because I am good at what I do. I will show that in the final.

“I have been picturing this for my whole life. It is going to be another day in the office for me. I will put on a performance in front of millions of people. And give our sport the best crowd experience – that’s my job.

“Jakob will try to win, I will try to win, and we will see who wins.”

Great Britain will have two men in contention for a 1500m medal after Kerr’s fellow Scotsman Neil Gourley also booked his place in the final.

British gold medal favourite Keely Hodgkinson cruised through to Monday’s women’s 800m final after finishing fastest after all the semis at Stade de France.

Tomorrow is going to be the most fun. There’s no pressure. I’m already there. I’ll give my absolute everything and whatever comes of that comes

The Tokyo 2020 silver medallist laid down one minute 56.86 seconds in the last of the three sessions, quicker than a personal best for Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma who was second of the overall 24-woman  field in 1:57.47.

Hodgkinson said: “I’ve been thinking about it every day for the past year. Obviously I don’t want to overthink it too much, I have to go out and do what I know I can do. If I can commit to that, I think I will get what I want.But you never know.

“As you can see in the semis, literally anything can happen. I was just happy to get through with no problems.

“I get nervous the whole time. The heats I was nervous, tonight I was nervous. Tomorrow is going to be the most fun. There’s no pressure. I’m already there. I’ll give my absolute everything and whatever comes of that comes.”

Hodgkinson had not ruled out all three British women making the final, but it was not meant to be for Jemma Reekie, the Tokyo 2020 fourth-place finisher, or 17-year-old debutant Phoebe Gill, who respectively finished eighth and 13th of the 24 semi-finalists.

Lyles’ former housemate Matthew Hudson-Smith also sealed his spot in the men’s 400m semi-final after winning the first heat.

The Wolverhampton athlete was forced to miss the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after a series of injuries and setbacks, and courageously came back from a mental health crisis to win his first major medal with bronze at the 2022 World Championships, upgrading to silver in 2023.

He said: “It was an easy run, I was just going for the win and trying to make it as easy as possible and get ready for the semi-finals.

“I just wanted to execute my race plan as comfortably as possible.

“Preparation has been really good, so now I just go for the win.”

There was major news ahead of the fourth heat, when it was announced that Bahamian defending Olympic champion Steven Gardiner had dropped out.

Great Britain’s Charlie Dobson also made it through as top man in the sixth and final heat.