Jakob Ingebrigtsen himself has had a good indoor season with a comfortable victory in the 1500 meters in Liévin and two European Championship golds in Istanbul. The Norwegian, who went through a long period of illness at the start of the year, set a Norwegian record in the 3000 meters in Turkey with a time of 7:40.32. But at the same time, several of the rivals have stepped up and delivered at an incredible level this winter. The Ethiopian Lamecha Girma set a world record for 3000 meters indoors in Liévin with a time of 7:23.81. At that time, the old world record of Daniel Komen had stood for 25 years. In the same race, the Spanish Mohamed Katir added 7.24.68. It is a European record, and a time below the old world record. WORLD RECORD: Girma crosses the finish line first, just ahead of Mohamed Katir. World record and European record in the same race. Photo: FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP Welcomes the competition Jakob Ingebrigtsen himself has a personal outdoor record of 7.27.05, from September 2020. In the EC final on Sunday, he was dissatisfied with the competitors and he welcomes the good times. – It is fun to see that there are others who are taking steps in the right direction, and that one can strive to run fast and break records. I’m looking forward to a new summer with competition from a lot of good people, so that I don’t just have to jump to the front alone, says the 22-year-old. news’s athletics expert Vebjørn Rodal still thinks Ingebrigtsen is a clear winner in the middle distance, but likes that there are more people signing up. – Girma is an athlete who has shown extreme talent, he is an exciting name. He can of course become a challenger for Jakob, but Jakob has the great advantage that he comes from 1500 meters and can handle high speed, says Rodal and continues: EXPERT: Vebjørn Rodal. Photo: Tor Erik Schrøder / NTB – What Daniel Komen did in 1997-1998 was extraordinarily good. It’s cool that we have this development, and I’m happy that we have runners who maintain such a high level. Rodal believes that an Ingebrigtsen in top form would have followed the world record race, and recalls that Katir attempted the Norwegian’s world record for 1500 meters indoors (3.30.60) the following week. He was far from taking it, with a run of 3.34,32. “The Ingebrigtsen effect” But the double record run from Liévin is only the top of a long series of performances of a sky-high level at middle and long distance this winter. Because also in the USA quite a few unknown runners have broken boundaries, where as many as five national records have been lowered. Most impressive was Woody Kincaid who ran to the fourth best time in history indoors with 12.51.61 in the 5000 metres. Berre Kenenisa Bekele, Halie Gebreselassie and Daniel Komen have run faster. This was also the fastest time in the world in almost 19 years. Rodal points to the fact that the American running environment has grown a lot, where there are several competent training groups with good trainers and great talent. Several of them also seem to be inspired by Team Ingebrigtsen in their training work, he says. – Are we seeing an Ingebrigtsen effect? – Definitely. He has shattered the myth that you have to persist for many years before you reach the top. – I do not overlook the fact that they look to Ingebrigtsen. That they are inspired by the structured threshold training, with systematic training at the right intensity. Competence has been built on this in several environments in the USA. – There will be runners who challenge Jakob and who make him unable to rest on his laurels. After the 3000 final, the focus was not on celebrating, but on getting home to train. He is impressive, says Rodal. Ingebrigtsen follows his own plan slavishly, but does not ignore the fact that there are several paths that lead to success. – There are many people who train well, and who have found that it helps to run fast. It’s cool to see that it works, and not necessarily just what I do. You can train in different ways with different philosophies, and at the same time compete at the same level, he says. Will become the best runner in history Last month, Ingebrigtsen lost the English mile record for 16-year-olds, set in 2017. The Australian 16-year-old Cameron Myers ran in 3.55.44, lowering the Norwegian’s age record by almost one second. Ingebrigtsen explains that in order to set records, one must prioritize it. Right now it is not at the top of his priority list, but the runner has high ambitions for his career. – How many records do you want to have at the end of your career? – Probably most of them are. From 1500 meters and up. I have a goal to become the best runner in the world of all time. There is no guarantee for one or the other. But in any case, I will try as hard as I can to improve myself as much as possible in everything. How good I will be remains to be seen, he says. PS! It is not only in the long and middle distances that the record has been seen this winter. World records have also been set in the following events: Pole vault, men: Armand Duplantis, 6.22 Shot put, men: Ryan Crouser, 23.38 400 metres, indoors, women: Femke Bol, 49.26 500 metres, indoors, women: Femke Bol, 1.05.63 600 meters, indoor, women: Keely Hodgkinson, 1.23.41 Discus, indoor, women: Shanice Craft, 65.23
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Super times among the rivals – thinks the “Ingebrigtsen effect” may be the explanation
