Now we know for certain – Tokyo will not be the Josh v Jakob show after Norwegian superstar Jakob Ingebrigtsen crashed out in the heats of the 1500m.
A year ago, all anyone could talk about in Paris was the heated rivalry between Josh Kerr, the reigning world champion and Ingebrigtsen, the Olympic champion.
As it turned out, neither man triumphed in the French capital as American Cole Hocker stunned the world to take gold.
The feeling was always that what was considered a two-horse race has become a wide-open battle and Monday’s semi-finals will take place without Ingebrigtsen, whose injury-troubled campaign came back to bite him.
The 24-year-old has been plagued by an Achilles injury and has not run outdoors in 2025.
Even so, when he pitched up on the start line in Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium – where he won gold ahead of Kerr four years ago – the expectation was that he would be in the mix.
The fact he did not lead from the front in his heat was the first indication that his lack of racing might be hurting him and that bore out as he failed to respond down the final straight, eventually coming home in 3:37.84 to finish eighth, as only the top six from each heat made it through.
It was always a lot to ask, even of the great Ingebrigtsen, to challenge at this level after such preparation. Even so, he was taken by surprise by the level of performance, even if he has vowed to run the 5000 metres later in the week to defend his world title.
He said: “It was very bad. Much worse than I had thought and maybe hoped. But it’s a reality check on how bad it has been. I think 5000 metres is more realistic. That sets a bit of a different demand.
“Of course, I’m disappointed, but unfortunately that’s probably the reality now.
“I think I might be able to respond a bit in this race and hopefully do quite a lot better in the 5000 metres attempt.
“You do the best you can. But I have to be realistic when I haven’t been able to train properly since April. I just have to make the best of it. I’m not the kind of person who lies down to cry. I’d rather get back up. Right now it’s not good enough for 1500 metres, but I believe it can be better in the 5000 metres.”
Ingebrigtsen had been drawn in the final of the four heats, alongside 2022 world champion Jake Wightman, who had edged out the Norwegian in a dramatic race in Eugene.
Wightman knows better than most what Ingebrigtsen is going through, having faced his own injury demons in the years since.
A stress fracture kept him out of his World Championship defence before a hamstring issue ruled him out of last summer’s Olympics.
And after winning the heat to make it through to the semi-finals, Wightman was quick to praise Ingebrigtsen.
He said: “Jakob going out there, I thought because he was going to race, that he would be rolling. But I don’t think anyone else could have stepped on the start line at a World Champs having not raced. I couldn’t do it so fair play to him.”
Ingebrigtsen was not the only big name to go out in the heats. France Azeddine Habz, who came in with the world-leading time, was seventh in the first heat while Kenyan teenage sensation Phanuel Koech, who beat Kerr at the London Diamond League, fell in the final heat.
Kerr heads into the semi-finals among the favourites, alongside the Netherlands’ Niels Laros and Hocker.
But for Wightman, the lesson when it comes to the 1500m is to expect the unexpected.
He added: “It’s not even him (Ingebrigtsen) that is the big danger. After the last few years, people have learned that is not just a one or two-horse race, it will probably be a 12-horse race by the time the final comes around.”
Follow all the action from the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 on the BBC
