Olympic 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s mouthwatering mid-season mile duel with world champion Josh Kerr at the Eugene Diamond League meeting is the kind of marquee matchup athletics needs, Ingebrigtsen said Friday. “It’s very important,” Norway’s Ingebrigtsen said as he and Kerr fielded questions together at a pre-meet press conference in Eugene. “Obviously we all feed off the engagement and the enthusiasm … if we’re only saving that for one race or two races of the season, I think the whole point vanishes a little bit.” Britain’s Kerr stunned Ingebrigtsen to take the world title in Budapest last year — after compatriot Jake Wightman had done the same at the 2022 worlds. Ingebrigtsen and Kerr traded barbs in the wake of that upset and Kerr was upfront about the fact that he has no special interest making their first meeting since an opportunity to smooth things over. “I’m here trying to be the best in the world,” Kerr said. “I showed I could do that last year and I want to continue that pursuit.