Portugal's Isaac Nader is the out-of-nowhere winner of men's 1,500 meters at world championships
This year’s out-of-nowhere winner of the men’s 1,500 meters hails from Portugal
Portugal's Isaac Nader celebrates after winning the gold medal ahead of Britain's Jake Wightman in the men's 1,500 meters final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
TOKYO (AP) — This year’s out-of-nowhere winner of the men’s 1,500 meters hails from Portugal. It's Isaac Nader, who ran five wide down the stretch Wednesday night to pull a shocker at world championships, even against a field that lost three of its top contenders long before the finish line.
Nader took advantage of a leisurely pace and beat 2022 champion Jake Wightman, who also wasn't expected to contend, by .02 seconds. The winning time: 3 minutes, 34.10 seconds.
Reynold Cheruiyot finished third while one of the favorites, Niels Laros, faded at the end and wound up fifth. Another, 2023 world champ Josh Kerr, pulled up lame in the third lap and finished the race nearly 30 seconds off the pace.
The last two Olympic champs, Cole Hocker and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, weren’t even in the final.
The 26-year-old Nader came in ranked eighth in the world and had never placed in a major championship.
His biggest win this year came in the Dream Mile in Oslo in June. That probably explained his look of pure shock when he looked up at the scoreboard and saw he was finishing first, barely ahead of Wightman, who grabbed the lead with about 200 meters to go but could not hang on.
___
AP Sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
Portugal's Isaac Nader crosses the finish line to win the men's 1,500 meters final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
United States' Katie Moon reacts in the women's pole vault final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Australia's Gout Gout finishes a men's 200 meters heat at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Portugal's Isaac Nader, left, crosses the finish line ahead of Britain's Jake Wightman to win the men's 1,500 meters final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
