EUGENE – Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen bounced back from his 1,500m disappointment to claim a brilliant World Championship gold medal in the 5,000m today.
Ingebrigtsen timed 13:09:24 for victory at Eugene’s Hayward Field, Kenya’s Jacob Krop claiming silver in 13:09.98 while Uganda’s Oscar Chelimo took bronze (13:10.20).
Uganda’s Olympic champion and world record holder Joshua Cheptegei finished down in ninth position in a race in which Ingebrigtsen was in total control over the last two laps.
“I didn’t want a sprint finish,” Ingebrigtsen said. “I wanted to prove that I’m a better runner than the rest of the guys.
“It was a great race. I ran it, I needed it. I felt really good today, but 5km is really tough.”
Cheptegei wasn’t afraid to put his foot down from the off, soon splitting the field with his 62-second lap pace.
The Kenyan trio of Krop, Nicholas Kipkorir and Daniel Ebenyo took up the running with eight laps to run, slowing the pace.
Kipkorir took the 15-stong pack through the halfway mark in 6:41.53, Ingebrigtsen sat on his shoulder as the runners bunched at a packed Hayward Field in hot, sunny conditions.
The Norwegian surged to the front with two laps to run, the speed noticeably quickened.
He went through the bell for the final lap in complete control, Krop attempting to pass him at 200 metres, but to no avail.
As Ingebrigtsen raced into the home stretch, he accelerated convincingly away from his rivals, raising an arm and pointing to fans who sat around the finish line in triumph.
“It feels amazing to win this gold,” Ingebrigtsen said. “This is already my fifth attempt to become a world champion outdoors and my third world championship. So finally, I became the world champion.”
He said it had been “very difficult” after the 1,500m, adding that he had had to fall back on his support team.
“I was very, very disappointed even though I got the silver medal. I know that I could have done better so that was the reason why I was disappointed with myself but today, I felt very good.
“I knew I would not get beaten by the others in the last laps. But the 5k is a very tough race.”
Ingebrigtsen added that thoughts were refocused immediately on the August 15-21 European championships in Munich.
“I just want to do better times than I did here. Of course, I am happy with the silver and gold but still, there are some improvements to be made.” – AFP, July 25, 2022
