Norwegian middle-distance star Jakob Ingebrigtsen reflected on a difficult period in his life and a mixed experience at the 2024 Paris Olympics, coming off a forgettable season. Plagued by an Achilles tendon injury, Ingebrigtsen struggled to find his best form. This setback ultimately saw him leave the Tokyo World Championships without a medal as he now looks to start fresh.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen Opens Up On Heartbreak At Paris Olympics
Paris didn’t go as planned for the Norwegian runner. Despite being in top form, Ingebrigtsen missed out on a podium finish in the men’s 1500m. In his recent interview with English news portal The Guardian, the Norwegian runner mentioned,
“Considering how good shape I was in at that Olympics, I think nine out of 10 times I would have won the 1500m. And this was the 10th. If I had just done anything differently, I think I would’ve had a better outcome.”
When the journalist mentioned his ‘redemption run’ in the 5000m event, Ingebrigtsen revealed that the gold medal wasn’t enough. In his words,
“It definitely wasn’t a redemption, no. There’s really nothing that can outweigh the disappointment of the 1500m.”
Ingebrigtsen had qualified for the men’s 1500m finals. However, he missed out on the podium finish by a whisker, clocking 3:28.24 to finish fourth overall. Cole Hocker won the gold medal with a time of 3:27.65, breaking Ingebrigtsen’s own record of 3:28.32 set in the previous edition at Tokyo in 2021.
In the interview, Ingebrigtsen mentioned that winning is an obsession for him: “Yes, definitely. It’s an obsession. But I’ve been able to feed that obsession my whole life.”
Ingebrigtsen was expected to nail it in the 2025 season. However, recurring injuries forced him to withdraw from most of the 2025 season, after a decisive head start in the European Indoor Championships and the World Indoor Championships.
Ingebrigtsen returned to the track in September for the Tokyo World Championships. The Norwegian runner had qualified by default as the winner of the 5000m event at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.
However, unlike Budapest, the Norwegian runner struggled to regain his form. Ingebrigtsen failed to qualify for the 1500m final. Although he somehow made it to the 5000m finals, Ingebrigtsen finished in the 10th position overall, with a time of just 13:02.00.
