TOKYO : Portugal's Isaac Nader was a shock winner of the world 1,500 metres title when he thrillingly out-dipped Briton Jake Wightman on the line after defending champion and race favourite Josh Kerr suffered an injury mid-race on Wednesday.Wightman, who has suffered terribly from injuries after winning t

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…

Even avid track fans might have checked their programs when that blur of red and green on the far outside started streaking to the lead with the finish line in sight. 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…