In next year’s Olympics in Paris, Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be the reigning Olympic champion in the 1500 metres, but there are good opportunities for him to be seen at several distances during the championships. After the European Championships last year, where Ingebrigtsen won both 1500 and 5000 metres, Ingebrigtsen said that he wanted to try the “triple” with an additional 10,000 metres. That time he was still unable to qualify as he fell ill with the corona virus and had to sit out the race he had planned to qualify through. He has also struggled with illness recently, but now he is back. On Wednesday, he will make his indoor season debut in Lievin, France, the place where he set the indoor world record last year with a time of 3.30.60. When asked by news if he is “toying with the idea” of going for a triple in next year’s Olympics, he replies: – Absolutely. I am a fan of running races and competing as much as possible, but at the same time I am very aware of not ruining what I like best, and that is 1500 metres. But to the extent that it is possible to do several things at the same time, I am absolutely on board, he says. HERJA IN THE EC: Jakob Ingebrigtsen won a double in the EC last year for the second time in his career, with gold in both the 1500 and 5000 metres. Photo: MATHIAS BERGELD / BILDBYRÅN Six races in nine days news’s athletics expert and Olympic champion in the 800 meters at the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, Vebjørn Rodal, praises Ingebrigtsen for being open to a triple. – I think it is incredibly fascinating that you are so aggressive that you only think the thought. So it is not certain that it is the ideal, but it is incredibly commendable that one dares to think the thought and considers doing it altogether, says Rodal, and continues: – He is an Olympic champion and a world champion from before, so why not not go for something completely new and “crazy” when you are young, aggressive and in your prime? Now is the time for him to do it, I think, says Rodal. A triple in the Olympics will mean six races in nine days Ingebrigtsen. Rodal believes the program is beneficial for a triple. – A better opportunity to triple than that is hard to come by. It is not so easy to put together a form so that you can triple 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 metres, he says. – If there is anyone who is going to do exactly that triple in international athletics, it is Jakob on the men’s side, says Rodal further. The legendary long-distance runner Emil Zátopek is the only one to have won three long or middle distances in one and the same Olympics, according to Running Magazine. The Czech won the 5,000 metres, 10,000 meters and marathon (!) in Helsinki in 1952. During the previous Olympics in Tokyo, Sifan Hassan competed in the same distances Ingebrigtsen is aiming for. That even with bronze (1500 metres), gold (5000) and gold (10,000 metres). See what the program for a triple in the Olympics will look like here: Ingebrigtsen’s possible triple in the Olympics August 2: Morning session: 1500 meters, trials August 2: Afternoon session: 10,000 meters, final August 4: Afternoon session: 1500 meters, semi-final August 6 : Afternoon session: 1,500 meters, final August 7: Morning session: 5,000 meters, trials August 10: Afternoon session: 5,000 meters, final Has not studied the program Ingebrigtsen himself notes that he has not studied the program in the Olympics, but at the same time that a triple will probably be too demanding in the WC this year. There is planned to be less than one hour from the start of the semi-final in the 1,500 meters and the final in the 10,000 meters. – What does it take to complete a triple? – The first is that many people do not want to take that risk. One must be relatively solidly trained. At the same time, you depend on a good programme, where the toughest physical loads may not be the first. That one has 1,500, which is a more resilient distance, first and then 10,000 meters, which is a bit tougher, in the end, is a dream scenario, he says. The final of 10,000 meters was finally the case when Sifan Hassan went for the triple in the Tokyo Olympics, still with two golds and one bronze. In the Olympics in 2024, he will therefore come as the first of the three finals. – Overall, I think people will bet on one and not take the risk of being on too much, because everything affects one or the other. – Does it take a lot of strength to do it in the Olympics? – Yes, it might do, says Ingebrigtsen with a smile. This is what it looked like when Ingebrigtsen won Olympic gold in Tokyo: – Surely motivated by doing something groundbreaking, Rodal believes the entertainment value of a possible triple will be substantial. – It’s fun to think new things and not just as people have done in the past. He dares to do that in training, so then he can dare to do it in competition too, he says. – He is certainly motivated by doing something ground-breaking and by taking advantage of this period where he is in such extremely good shape as he is. I think that is absolutely right, says Rodal. But on Wednesday the first indoor race of the season awaits in Lievin. Ingebrigtsen also wants to win the indoor European Championship before he shifts his focus to the track season. Although Ingebrigtsen has struggled with a cold this winter, a speed of 2.20 for the first 1000 meters has been ordered, which suggests that Ingebrigtsen’s own indoor record of 3.30.60 may be within range. – I don’t think it’s a completely wrong speed. But if it is followed, we will see tomorrow (Wednesday), says Ingebrigtsen with a smile.
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