Jakob Ingebrigtsen had not raced competitively for more than ten months.
On Monday night (10 August) in Birmingham, none of that seemed to matter.
The Norwegian produced a remarkable comeback to win the men’s 5000m at the 2026 European Athletics Championships, extending his reign in the event to four consecutive titles and his unbeaten run at the European Championships to 15 races across the 1500m and 5000m.
It was an extraordinary return for the two-time Olympic champion, who underwent surgery on his left Achilles tendon in late January and had not competed since the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Yet there was little sign of rust when the race reached its decisive stages.
Ingebrigtsen stayed patiently among the leading group as France’s world 10,000m champion Jimmy Gressier and Germany’s Florian Bremm took much of the responsibility at the front.
With 150 metres remaining, Gressier made his move.
Ingebrigtsen waited.
Then, with around 60 metres to go, the Norwegian unleashed the trademark finishing kick that has delivered so many victories throughout his career.
Gressier and Bremm had no answer.
Ingebrigtsen powered away from the pair to cross the line in 13:15.29, completing one of the most remarkable comebacks of his career.
“Did it look like I panicked?” he laughed to the media.
“No, I felt pretty strong in the last 600m, and I was in a good position. That’s when I started to feel a little bit confident; I knew if I felt that good with 600m to go, I had a good chance of winning.
“There was a surprising amount of headwind in the back straight so I had to make everything count and spend my energy perfectly.
“I’ve missed a lot of things (with injury), but that’s worth nothing. I was here to compete.”
Bremm held on for silver in 13:15.60, while Gressier appeared set for bronze before being overtaken in the final strides by compatriot Etienne Daguinos, who finished third in 13:16.09.
Gressier had to settle for fourth in 13:16.36.
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/european-athletics-championships-2026-norway-s-jakob-ingebrigtsen-claims-stunning-5000m-gold
