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Josh Kerr was stunned by Kenyan sensation Phanuel Koech in a star-studded 1500 metre final in front of a sell-out home crowd of 60,000 at the London Diamond League meeting yesterday.
The reigning world champion, who had set his sights on breaking his own British record, was instead outpaced by 19-year-old Koech, who eased past the Scot on the inside with 200m to go to scorch to the line in a time of three minutes and 28.82 seconds.
Kerr took second with a season’s best of 3.29.37, with countryman Jake Wightman claiming fourth, Neil Gourlay finishing 10th and England’s George Mills failing to finish after a fall on the final lap.
With just two months until his defence of the world title he claimed in Budapest in 2023, Kerr was frustrated at his failure but vowed to peak in time for this year’s event in Tokyo.
‘I should be winning those, so I am frustrated,’ said Kerr.
‘I wanted to show up and win for this crowd but all I can promise to them now is in a few months’ time I will be battling for a gold medal for this country. I’ll bring it home and then everyone can see what we were working towards today.’
Kerr is powerless to stop Koech overtaking him on the inside and charging to glory in London
Kerr rued his failure in front of home fans but vowed to bounce back in Japan
Georgia Hunter Bell took advantage of Keely Hodgkinson's absence to win the women's 1500m
Wightman doesn’t think Koech’s eye-catching time should make him favourite for the worlds, arguing: ‘The Diamond League are pace races. It’s much different in championships when there is no one to dictate pace and you need to be astute.’
Elsewhere, Georgia Hunter Bell emerged from the shadows of training partner Keely Hodgkinson to give the London Stadium something to shout about on a day of shocks which also saw Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles beaten.
Despite being a bronze medallist in last year’s Olympics 1500m, Hunter Bell remains relatively unsung compared to middle- distance queen Hodgkinson, the reigning BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
But with her friend injured, Hunter Bell took full advantage to power away from a strong 800m field to win in a season’s best 1m56.74s, with Scottish stars Jemma Reekie and Laura Muir down the field.
The biggest disappointment of the day came as the supposed fastest man on the planet, Olympic 100m champion Lyles, looked sluggish next to Jamaican rival Oblique Seville, who clocked 9.86s.
In mitigation, it was Lyles’ first race at the distance since Paris and he insisted afterwards: ‘There is no need to panic.’
Olympic champion Noah Lyles had a day to forget in London but refused to panic
Charlie Dobson was a British winner in the 400m ahead of compatriot Matt Hudson-Smith but there was disappointment for other home favourites Dina Asher-Smith, Katerina Johnson-Thompson and Molly Caudery in their individual events.
Earlier in the day, Athletics Ventures had announced a GB bid for the 2029 World Championships and World Paralympics, backed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said: ‘Bringing them here would be a moment of great national pride and provide a boost for businesses and jobs.’
However, the President of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, warned there will be stiff competition from other major cities in different continents. He said: ‘London has some very clear and obvious assets. We are an athletics-loving nation and people turn up. But it will be competitive.
'There are a lot of good cities out there. I won’t give a list of runners and riders but there are cities who have expressed an interest and are engaging with us.’
There was no louder cheer in the old Olympic Stadium yesterday than the British 4x400m relay squad receiving their rightful gold medal from the 1997 world championships — 28 years late.
Great Britain's 1997 4x400m relay stars finally receive their gold medal at London Stadium
Originally finishing second to USA, they were upgraded to first in 2008 when it was discovered Antonio Pettigrew in the American team was a drugs cheat.
It’s taken all this time since for Roger Black, Iwan Thomas, Jamie Baulch, Mark Richardson and Mark Hilton to all be available at the same British meet to receive their gongs.
The moment had extra poignancy for Thomas, who has given his medal to six-year-old son Teddy, who spent 10 days in intensive care as a baby after catching Group B Strep (GBS) that causes breathing difficulties.
The ceremony also had a tinge of sadness as Pettigrew committed suicide in 2010, aged 42. ‘I’d rather him have the gold medal than taking his life,’ said Baulch.
