"It's a reality check," says Norwegian as he and other high-profile contenders fall at the first World Championships hurdle.

Josh Kerr predicted there would be shocks in the men’s 1500m at the Tokyo World Championships and the defending champion was proved right, as a number of big names – chief among them Jakob Ingebrigtsen – went tumbling out during an eventful opening round on Sunday (September 14).

The Norwegian star, crowned 1500m Olympic champion at the National Stadium in the Japanese capital four years ago, was racing outdoors for the first time this year due to the recurrence of an Achilles problem that has kept him sidelined for the summer. 

He had admitted to feeling like he was “racing against the clock” to be fit for Tokyo and his lack of racing bit hard in the fourth and final heat of the morning session, where he was only able to finish eighth (the top six in each heat qualified for tomorrow’s semi-finals) in a time of 3:37.84.

That performance represents his lowest 1500m finish since he was 10th at the Stockholm Diamond League in 2017.

The 24-year-old’s championships are not over, however, and he insisted he plans to defend his 5000m world title, with the heats for that event taking place on September 19.

"It's a first-time experience that I haven't got to the next round,” said Ingebrigtsen, who has also had an incredibly difficult year off the track, given the trial of his father and former coach Gjert, who was cleared of charges relating to physical and verbal abuse against Jakob but found guilty of hitting the 5000m Olympic champion’s younger sister, Ingrid, in the face with a wet towel.

He added: “Of course, it's very disappointing but at the same time it is a reality check. This is an event that's very competitive. You need to prepare your best and, of course, I'm not there. I think I'm probably closer for the 5000m race right now. 

“I'll recover and have a couple of good days until I go again [in the 5000m heats] and try again. Everything is a test. I was trying to do my best to advance to the semi-final but it was terrible. You have to start and you have to try."

Ingebrigtsen was not alone in failing to progress as the two fastest men in the world this year, Frenchman Azzedine Habz and Kenyan teenager Phanuel Koech, were also knocked out. 

Habz, world leader after he ran 3:27.49 in Paris, could only finish seventh in the opening heat, while London Diamond League winner and under-20 world record-holder Koech fell in the same heat as Ingebrigtsen and couldn’t make up the lost ground, finishing 12th. Despite the contact that brought the Kenyan down, the referees adjudged it to be a racing incident.

There were no struggles for Kerr, second behind Norwegian Narve Gilje Nordas in the opening heat with 3:35.98, while Olympic champion Cole Hocker won heat three in 3:41.88, while the in-form Dutchman Niels Laros (3:41.00) was third in heat two.

Former world champion Jake Wightman, back after injury, won heat four in 3:36.90 and was also joined in the semi-finals by fellow Briton Neil Gourley, who finished third in a cagey third heat with his time of 3:42.13. His team-mate Elliot Giles was eighth in heat two with 3:41.60 and didn’t progress.

"It's good to get the first round out of the way," said Kerr. "These championships are [about] taking it round by round. You can’t take anything for granted."