Ingebrigtsen Returns From Injury to Make History, Then Takes Aim at Kerr's Absence
Jakob Ingebrigtsen came back from 11 months out with an Achilles injury to win 5,000m gold at the European Championships in Birmingham on Monday — and in doing so became the joint-most successful athlete in the history of the competition. Then he used the moment to call out someone who was not there.
The 25-year-old Norwegian told BBC Sport he was "very" disappointed that Britain's Josh Kerr had chosen to skip the championships, and said athletes who miss major competitions are "ruining" the sport. BBC Sport
Kerr, the world 1,500m champion and Olympic bronze medallist in that event, said the European Championships were never part of his plans this season. He has opted to prioritise his home Commonwealth Games in Glasgow over the Birmingham event. Team GB
Ingebrigtsen's frustration carries the weight of personal history. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, he won 5,000m gold but finished fourth in the 1,500m — behind Cole Hocker, Kerr and Yared Nuguse — in one of the most dramatic middle-distance races of the Games. AP News
The rivalry between Ingebrigtsen and Kerr has become one of the defining storylines in modern athletics: two of the fastest 1,500m runners in history, separated by temperament and nationality, pushing each other toward times that seemed impossible a decade ago.
Ingebrigtsen, who also won the Olympic 1,500m title in Tokyo, said he "could never" prioritise a time over a title. Championships exist, he argued, for the best athletes to compete against one another — and athletes should not simply choose where to participate. BBC Sport
His own absence from the 1,500m in Birmingham means that, for just the second time since 2012, a European champion in that event will be crowned without the surname Ingebrigtsen. His initial announcement confirmed only the 5,000m; the 1,500m was not mentioned. European Athletics AP News
The road to Birmingham was long. Surgery on his Achilles tendon kept Ingebrigtsen out of competition for nearly a year, a lay-off that would have ended many careers. He returned not with a tentative run but with a gold-medal performance, the kind of statement he has built his career around.
The championships run through 16 August, and the absence of both Ingebrigtsen and Kerr from the 1,500m leaves that race wide open — a rarity in an event the Norwegian family has dominated for most of the past decade.
