Running News Daily

Ingebrigtsen Ready to Battle Hocker and Kerr on Their Home Turf—All Roads Lead to Tokyo

Jakob Ingebrigtsen is preparing for two of the most anticipated races of the 2025 Diamond League season—each taking place on the home turf of his fiercest rivals.

The double world indoor champion is set to headline the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on July 5, where he’ll take on U.S. Olympic gold medalist Cole Hocker and American 1500m record-holder Yared Nuguse. Then, on July 19, he travels to London for a highly anticipated 1500m duel against Great Britain’s world champion Josh Kerr—who will be racing in front of a home crowd.

Ingebrigtsen, last season’s Diamond League overall champion, is no stranger to success at Hayward Field. At the 2023 Diamond League Final, he delivered a blazing 3:43.73 in the Bowerman Mile—setting both a European and Diamond League record. But this year, the challenge is steeper. Both Hocker and Nuguse outkicked him in the 1500m final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and they’ll be looking to repeat that feat on home soil.

And in London, the rivalry with Kerr will reignite. The Brit also finished ahead of Ingebrigtsen in Paris, and the 1500m clash in front of a UK crowd will be packed with tension and stakes.

“I’ve recovered well from the indoors and training is going well,” said Ingebrigtsen, who claimed double gold in the 1500m and 3000m at both the World and European Indoor Championships this spring. Earlier this season, he also broke the world indoor records for the mile and 1500m in Lievin.

“I’ve never been afraid to show up, and it felt good to come away from indoors with four gold medals. My focus now is on the summer—and on returning to Tokyo, where I won Olympic gold in 2021, to win another global title.”

That return to Tokyo refers to the 2025 World Athletics Championships, where Ingebrigtsen hopes to reaffirm his dominance on the global stage after back-to-back Olympic defeats.

My Best Runs founder and lifetime runner Bob Anderson shared his thoughts on the coming matchups.

“I’m so impressed by the spirit Jakob Ingebrigtsen brings to our sport,” Anderson said. “His confidence is electric—he’s a showman, and often has most of the field beaten at the starting line. But Josh Kerr and Cole Hocker aren’t backing down. They have their own vision of who will cross the line first. That’s what makes these showdowns so compelling.”