Josh Kerr of Great Britain took on the spirit of Seb Coe and Steve Cram and won gold in the 1500m.

Josh Kerr of Great Britain celebrates winning the men's 1500m final. Photo: PA/Martin Rickett

History is made and history is repeated. Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Olympic champion who plausibly claims he could be «the greatest runner that ever was», is beaten by a Briton in the 1500m World Championship final.

Yet the winner this time around was not Jake Wightman, but another Scot, Josh Kerr, who backed up his bold pre-race claim that Ingebrigtsen was actually «very winable» thanks to his life's work.

Kerr now joins Wightman and follows in the golden footsteps of Sebastian Coe, Dame Kelly Holmes and Steve Cram as the 1500m world title winner. His victory over one of the world's greatest superstars was also achieved in the most dramatic fashion after an extraordinary side-by-side 200m finish.

“Josh is like a Terminator, his inner confidence is crazy,” said Wightman, who works on the track. «Jakob Ingebrigtsen will start to hate us Brits, won't he?»

In the psychological warfare workshop, Kerr even very deliberately chose from three possible designs the exact same vest design worn by Wightman at the shocking Ingebrigzen in Oregon last year. Kerr also believes his $255 (£200) sunglasses offer a psychological advantage by hiding his eyes, but he clearly preferred red frames rather than tempt fate with the precocious gold version that Oakley suggested.

«I'm not saying I wore a special vest to bring back nightmares, but I needed every ounce I had,» Kerr said. “I just put all my 16 years into this sport for the last 200 meters and didn’t give up. I knew I was capable of winning the World Championship gold medal for Great Britain. I wanted this all my life. There is something wrong with the UK.”

Britain's Josh Kerr celebrates gold in the final. Photo: Reuters/Dylan Martinez

Kerr, who along with Wightman graduated from Scottish Grassroots Athletics to become World Junior Champion before settling in New Mexico, bowed to the crowd in victory before finding his family gathered on the last straight exactly where he finally broke. Ingebrigtsen. The medal was then presented to Coe, president of the World Athletics Association and, more importantly, a two-time Olympic champion in the 1500 meters. «It's surreal… mind-boggling,» Kerr said. «I had memories of all the early mornings, all the late nights, all the sacrifices.»

Kerr later revealed that two weeks before the race, he switched off and didn't even use his cell phone to focus solely on preparing for the big race. Earlier this week, Ingebrigtsen looked unbeatable, even waving to the crowd by beating Kerr in the semi-finals and making his usual run forward in the 12-man group with 800 meters left in the final.

The gradual quickening of the pace and slowing down of the pace were enough to quickly distance themselves from most of the field. But not Kerr, who immediately fell behind the 22-year-old Norwegian when the bell rang.

12 months ago, Wightman showed a rare vulnerability, breaking past Ingebrigzen on the back straight with an unexpectedly sudden change of pace. However, this season, Ingebrigtsen seems to have decided to make amends for that bitter experience by making his finishing blow sharper in case anyone dares to stab him in the shoulder. He hadn't been seriously threatened all summer and the pre-race talk was actually more focused on whether he could jeopardize Hisham El Guerrouj's 25-year-old world record than lose another world final.

Four great Britons on distance 1500 metersKerr, however, has been feeling in good shape in recent weeks and, reaffirming his belief that he can turn the world of athletics upside down, tried the Wightman-style snatch with 200 meters to go. It was less decisive than Wightman's final push, but enough to match Ingebrigtsen before a side-by-side gladiator fight around the last corner.

The seemingly impossible suddenly became plausible as they entered the homestretch when it was Ingebrigsten who collapsed and Kerr kept his form superbly, adding a World Championship gold in 3:29.38 seconds to the Olympic bronze he won behind the Norwegian two years ago. .

«I felt it break and I needed to stay strong — I could barely stand,» he said.

Josh Kerr crossed the finish line first in Budapest. Photo: AP/David J. Phillip

Ingebrigtsen complained of a sore throat after the race, and although he was more than two seconds behind his best of the season, Kerr wasn't about to let that detract from his victory. «It could have been a passing remark — he's using his excuses,» Kerr said. “If my shoelaces are untied, that’s a problem too. It's those small percentages that make a big difference.”

Ingebrigzen was also almost overtaken in the last steps by his Narve teammate Gilje Nordas, but he still held onto the silver. Notable is the fact that Nordas has for the past 12 months been officially coached by Gjert Ingebrigzen, Jakob's father, with whom he ended his parent-son coaching relationship last year. Gjert had previously managed Jakob on a full training schedule since the age of eight, but in Budapest he was completely suspended from the Norwegian team's official hotel.

Further into Wednesday's run, Neil Gourley finished ninth, adding to an already great night for the British team after Molly Codery's superb fifth place in the women's pole vault with a personal best of 4.75 metres.