Josh Kerr claimed 1500 metres silver after the United States’ Cole Hocker stormed to a shock gold in Olympic record time.
The Stade de France final was billed as the showdown of the century between the world champion Scotsman and his arch nemesis Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist.
The Norwegian quickly saw himself in front and held the lead into the final lap, when Kerr made his move along the back straight.
Just as it looked like Great Britain might have their second gold medal on the track, Hocker surged forward to snatch the title away as American Yared Nuguse claimed bronze, with Ingebrigtsen fourth.
Kerr told BBC Sport: “I can’t walk away from the championship disappointed. Obviously I said what my goals were, it was pretty obvious.
“But I’ve put a performance out there today that I was extremely proud of. I focused on my controllables, I ran the fastest and best 1500 metres I’ve ever done in my life and so when you start worrying about what everyone else does from the results then you’ll never be satisfied.
“It’s obviously not the colour of medal I want but it’s working towards the right colour – from bronze to silver.”
Ingebrigtsen told the BBC: “My plan was to win. It didn’t go according to plan. But I felt very strong the first couple of laps.
“I had difficulty telling the pace because it was quite fast. But it was difficult to slow down and reduce myself a little bit.
“I saw I was starting to get a little bit of a gap and I kept on pushing but it was just 100 metres too long today. The guys behind me finishing in front of me did a great race. It’s not always easy to spend your energy wisely but I felt strong and not the result I wanted.
“A 1500m the pace is so fast the whole race, especially with me opening so strong. You cant really tell 100 per cent when you’re hitting the wall before you hit it – it just a little bit too early today.”
Kerr might not have taken the title, but he did set a new national record in 3:27.79, while Nuguse clocked a personal best 3:27.80 and Ingebrigtsen finished in 3:28.24.
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