Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The men’s 1500m final at the 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest is set to be a highly competitive race, featuring some of the world’s top middle-distance runners. Exceptional invitations were extended to Great Britain’s Josh Kerr, the 2023 world champion, and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, a multiple Olympic and world gold medalist, joining Olympic champion Cole Hocker (USA) and world champion Isaac Nader (Portugal) among others.
Josh Kerr, who set the world-leading time of 3:27.62 at the London Diamond League while pursuing a mile world record, had not previously raced the 1500m this season but aims to add another title in Budapest. Kerr earned his first global gold in Budapest three years ago, finishing ahead of Ingebrigtsen.
Ingebrigtsen, with an automatic 5000m invitation as reigning Olympic champion, may compete in both the 1500m and 5000m. If he enters the 1500m, it will be their first matchup at that distance since the 2024 Zurich Diamond League, where Ingebrigtsen placed second and Kerr fifth. After Achilles surgery, Ingebrigtsen began his season in August and won his fourth consecutive European 5000m title. He has since run three Diamond League 1500m races, finishing fourth and fifth.
Australia’s Cameron Myers, the overall Diamond League 1500m champion and Oceanian record holder at 3:28.00, will also compete. Myers won the mile at the Diamond League in Eugene and was runner-up to Kerr in the Commonwealth Games mile, entering Budapest as a strong contender.
This event brings together Olympic, World, and Diamond League champions, highlighting the exceptional quality and competitiveness anticipated in the men’s 1500m final on Sunday, 13 September 2026.