It's on: Josh Kerr of Brooks Beasts vs Jakob Ingebrigtsen & Yared Nuguse in Bowerman Mile at Nike Pre Classic...
EUGENE--THE race that matters won't happen until August 6th at 8:50 pm in the Paris suburb of St. Denis at the Stade de France, but the hype leading to the race for the Olympic gold medal in the 1500 meters is already underway.
TrackTown USA, the organizers of the Nike Prefontaine Classic, announced Tuesday that the Bowerman Mile will be headlined by reigning world champion Josh Kerr (photo courtesy Brooks Running) of the Seattle based Brooks Beasts, as he faces reigning Olympic champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway and Notre Dame alum and current American mile record holder Yared Nuguse on May 25th.
Ingebrigtsen returns to Pre Classic for his seventh time to defend his 2023 Bowerman Mile title, which also earned him the Wanda Diamond League Final trophy at last year’s event. His 3:43.73 mile set a national record, meet record, and was the third-fastest mile ever run.
The Scottish born Kerr, who graduated from the University of New Mexico before moving to Seattle to train with coach Danny Mackey and the Brooks Beasts, will make his Prefontaine Classic debut in The Bowerman Mile. Recently crowned a World Athletics Indoor Champion in the 3000 meters, Kerr is also the reigning World Athletics Outdoor Championships 1500m champion. His personal best over the mile currently stands at 3:48.87 (2022).
Nuguse ran a blistering 3:43.97 in the Bowerman Mile last year to break the 16-year-old American record in the mile and notch himself as the fourth-fastest man ever to run one mile. Nuguse is fresh off a national title and World Athletics Indoor Championships silver medal in the 3000 meter short track this season.
Named in honor of legendary coach Bill Bowerman, The Prefontaine Classic’s signature event is the world’s premier mile race. The Bowerman Mile has produced 389 sub-4:00 mile performances in its history, a mark more than any other American meet.
After Kerr set the world indoor best of 8:00.67 in the two mile at the Millrose Games in New York last month, the Norwegian, who owns the outdoor world best of 7:54.10 at that distance, threw some fuel into the fire by stating to TV2 in Norway, “I would have beaten him in that race, blindfolded...But it’s good that people run better than they have done before.”
Kerr responded after winning the World Athletics indoor 3000 title in Glasgow by telling reporters, “We are having a bit of fun back and forth, hopefully it keeps you guys interested, but I am more looking forward to the head-to-head than all the comments."
“I’m a blabbermouth. I have a bit of an ego and I enjoy talking a little bit of smack here and there. We train for hours and hours on our own and we want an outlet to explain ourselves.'
“But we are just having fun. I don’t have anything against him. We are just two people who are trying to go after an Olympic title."
Before the announcement from TrackTown USA, Kerr hinted that he and Ingebrigtsen would face each other several times before the Olympics, saying, “We are going to go head-to-head many times this season I believe. I don’t think I am going to win them all but I will win the right one [in Paris].
Ingebrigtsen is coming off an Achilles injury suffered after last year's Nike Prefontaine Classic, which caused him to skip the indoor season. It's projected that Pre will be his season opener.
Tickets are now on sale, with prices starting at just $25. Fans can purchase tickets online at PreClassic.com or by calling 1-800-WEBFOOT (1-800-932-3668).
NOTE: Brooks Running, TrackTown USA and the Wanda Diamond League contributed to this report.
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