Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins men’s 1500-meter gold in record time at Tokyo Olympics

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen won gold in Saturday’s 1500-meter race at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and did so in record fashion. Ingebrigtsen ran the race in 3:28.32, which broke a record set two days prior. Kenya’s Abel Kipsang had run a semifinal race in a then-record 3:31.65.

Ingebrigtsen entered the race with the second best odds to win at DraftKings Sportsbook, behind Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot, who was a +125 favorite. Cheruiyot claimed the silver on Saturday with a time of 3:29.01. Great Britain racer Josh Kerr won the bronze medal with a time of 3:29.05.

This is Ingebrigtsen’s first appearance in the Olympics. The 20-year old had dominated Norwegian racing primarily across the 800-meter, 1500-meter, and 3000-meter races. Prior to 2021, he had mixed results in 2019. He finished second in the 1500-meter at the European Indoor Championships in Scotland and fourth at the World Championships in Qatar.

The race included one American, Cole Hocker. He finished with a time of 3:31.40, which was a personal best.