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Josh Kerr was as cool as can be as he stormed through to the Olympic 1500m semi-final and brushed off rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s latest jibe.
The 26-year-old finished fastest from the first of three heats in 3:35.83 to book his place in Sunday evening’s semis on an afternoon that also saw all three of Great Britain’s women, including European champion Dina Asher-Smith, qualify from their 100m heats on the first day of track and field action at Stade de France.
Kerr, who beat the Norwegian to the world title in 2023, was aware of – but utterly unfazed by – comments made by Ingebrigtsen, the reigning Olympic champion, who speaking to his country’s media on Thursday said of the Scotsman: “It is difficult to refer to him as a rival when he is never there. He is known as the Brit who never competes.”
But Kerr, a bear who refused to be poked, said: “I’ve heard. I would like to be defined in my career at the end of it, (and) I think I’m just getting started.
“Hopefully that’s medals, fast times and fun battles head-to-heads. Everyone can have their own opinions, I have absolutely no problems with that, and I will hopefully be able to be remembered for something slightly different than that.”
World Athletics president Lord Coe on Thursday branded Kerr and Ingebrigsten’s showdown as a potential “race for the ages”.
Ingebrigtsen, like Kerr, only needed to finish in the top six to advance, and made it through third in the final and slowest of the three heats, crossing the line in 3:37.04.
He has been critical of Kerr’s choice to limit his time on the track, the Edinburgh athlete racing just twice since he beat Ingebrigtsen the last time they shared a start line, in the mile at the Eugene Diamond League meeting in May.
Both of Kerr’s subsequent appearances were at 800m, the heats and final of June’s British championships.
The Norwegian also readdressed the rivalry, but not before taking a joking swipe at a British journalist who asked why he emerged wearing a mask, wondering if the 23-year-old had any concerns about Covid-19 in the village.
“Because you are sick! I’m extremely scared of all of you” he cajoled. “No, it’s just my own precaution to make sure I’m as fit as I can be for my race.
Pressed about his comments and Kerr’s choice to limit his races, the Olympic record-holder replied: “It is a running competition, so of course it’s an advantage (to run more).”
I'm definitely better than last year— Josh Kerr
Kerr defended his game plan, adding: “The problem is people compare me to everyone else, but they should be comparing me to myself from years previous. That’s how I run my best and that’s how I compare myself.
“I’m definitely better than last year, and we’ll see that.”
Asher-Smith, Daryll Neita and Imani-Lara Lansiquot all made it through to Saturday’s semis, Neita’s season’s best 10.92 seconds good enough for the third-fastest of all the finishers from the heats, while Asher-Smith finished in 11.01 and Lansiquot in 11.10 on the electric lavender track.
Asher-Smith, who quickly forgave the fans whose cheering for another event forced a restart in her heat, said: “I was like ‘you know what, you lot get a pass. It’s the first morning session, you get a pass’. I’m happy.
“I just wanted to get started. You know, you’re kind of just waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting. And I’m just happy to have got started and looking forward to tomorrow evening.
“Tokyo was was strange for many, many reasons. And I think Paris, being with with a full crowd, and being only an hour or an hour or so away from the UK is really special.
“There are so many British fans in the crowd. It really made my heart warm. And I think it just adds this amazing energy and atmosphere that the athletes can feel. Like, we feed off this kind of energy.
“You guys have been in stadiums when it’s electric, and that’s ultimately all you want when you’re a competitor.”
Fellow Scot Neil Gourley started against Ingebrigtsen, booking his place with a time of 3:37.18, but British compatriot George Mills’ 3:35.99 forced him into the repechage round – new for Paris 2024 – and needs to finish top three in his heat on Saturday.
And there was disappointment for Morgan Lake, who did not progress to the women’s high jump final after finishing 15th in qualification.
