Running in supposedly the “easy” heat of the incredibly-deep men’s Olympic 1,500-Meter semifinal, Hobbs Kessler, who trains in Flagstaff, and Under Armour Dark Sky’s Neil Gourley, of Great Britain, finished second and third, respectively, and advanced to Tuesday night’s epic final.
Kessler, just 21, ran a tactically adept race for someone so young. While American teammate Yared Nuguse decided to be the front runner (it paid off; he won the heat in 3:31.72), Kessler showed patience and remained on the rail in four or fifth through 800 meters.
He moved up to third heading into the bell lap and remained in that position heading into the final turn.
Nuguse showed no signs of faltering, and Dark Sky’s Gourley was strong, too, in the final lap. Gourley spent most of the final two laps in second place, away from the fray. It was a wise move since, in the recent Diamond League London meet, he was tripped and fell.
Not this time. Gourley kept his position into the final turn, but Kessler surged in the inside to overtake him for second. Kessler ran 3:31.97 to Gourley’s 3:32.11. Both easily advanced, since the top six in each heat will go to Tuesday’s final.
The first heat was much more contentious, what with Norway’s Jacob Ingebrigtsen and Great Britain’s Josh Kerr continuing their rivalry – -this time on the track, not on social media. It was a tactical race, with American Cole Hocker wisely choosing to go out with Kerr and, after a while, Ingebrigtsen.
Ingebrigtsen won in 3:32.38, with Kerr second in 3:32.46 and Hocker third in 3:32.54.
Though it turned out that the second heat ran faster, the first heat boasted three favorites. But the way Nuguse ran (following a poor first round) put him among the medal contenders.
Do not count out either the hard-nosed Kessler or Gourley, both of whom could sneak onto the podium.
Earlier Sunday, Dark Sky Distance’s Regan Yee placed 12th in her heat in the first round of the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:27.81. She did not advance to the finals.
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