The Prefontaine Classic 2024 lined up for Saturday, May 25th, promises some blistering action. With the two 1500m doyens- Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and World champion Josh Kerr competing for the first time this year, all eyes await to see who reigns supreme. Especially, since the verbal battles between these two have been grist to the gossip mill for quite a long, this event has attracted more hype than any usual showdown. And not just the fans but the second-fastest 150m runner, Noah Lyles also seems to be closely watching the contest.

Just a day ago Lyles had publically reacted to the Jakob-Kerr press conference announcement, which revealed that he was surely keeping tabs on all the pre-run updates. And now, one of his comments on the Bowerman Mile has elicited a direct response from Jakob himself.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen gives a tactful response to Lyles

Before lining up on their marks at Hayward Field, Jakob Ingebrigsten, Josh Kerr, and Yared Nuguse appeared at the official press conference for the Diamond League series event. Documented in a YouTube video by Citius Magazine, the conference gives us a piece of the runners’ minds before D-day. However, one of its most interesting bits was when a reporter cited Noah Lyles’ words that he would be watching the race and that he wanted to see the competition, not the time.

Jakob took up the mic and answered when the reporter asked either of the three to address this comment. ‘I think that makes sense’ he stated, agreeing with Lyles. He even added that it’s not always about running fast, but they all occasionally try to do the things they believe are needed for them to have the best winning chances.

‘Sometimes that is to run fast, sometimes that is to do something different,’ he mentioned, referring to how each athlete adds value to the competition beyond timing. Therefore, without fanning any controversy, Jakob gave a fitting reaction. The 2023 Bowerman Mile winner even touched on how he feels the athletes should be hyped. ‘But the overall excitement which I just mentioned, that’s supposed to go throughout the whole season. Can’t always happen or handle about, you know, fast times.’ 

With this statement, Jakob consents that the exhilaration cannot always be about the fast timings, but also about watching individual players unleash their x-factors on the track. However, the contrasting aspect also remains true that a significant percentage of viewers tune in to these competitions just for the rivalry angle. And this is definitely a possibility for the upcoming Jakob Ingebrigtsen-Josh Kerr clash.

The Jakob-Kerr rivalry- a great promotional for the Bowerman Mile 2024

As the two sprinting phenoms, Jakob and Kerr, are just hours away from competing head-to-head for the third time in history, there is a huge buzz around this much-anticipated event. Coming out of an Achilles injury, it will certainly not be a cakewalk for Jakob to face Kerr, who has thrived in a recent indoor season. While everyone knows that, the sporting dynamic is not what they are the most thrilled about.

In the recent past, both Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr had not been mincing their words with each other. And their bold remarks have truly attracted a whole new audience for the clash between the two. Not just track and field supporters, but veteran names have come out in the open about witnessing this action-packed rivalry. After Noah Lyles remarked that he was ‘very excited,’ even two-time Olympian Andy Baddeley expressed identical anticipation.

Therefore, there is a clear impact of their dynamic on the popularity of the event. While there is not much time remaining to see who steals the show on the track, many would even be holding their breaths to hear what the athletes say after the run. What do you think of this rivalry?