Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Jakob Ingebrigtsen put the controversy surrounding his Diamond League final defeat behind him as he produced a trademark late surge to win the men’s 5,000m at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship on Friday.
Just days after calling his 1500m rivals a “bunch of cowards” following his fourth-place finish in Brussels, the Norwegian Olympic champion returned to the track and delivered a much more emphatic response. Ingebrigtsen clocked a season’s best 12:59.24, moving from the back of the field in the closing laps before powering clear with 100 metres to go.
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Cole Hocker, the Olympic champion in the 1500m, finished second in 13:00.05, while American Parker Wolfe took third in 13:00.13.
INGEBRIGTSEN’S LATE SURGE
For much of the race, Ingebrigtsen stayed towards the back of the pack and allowed his rivals to dictate the pace. He gradually worked his way forward over the final two laps before unleashing the finishing kick that has become one of the defining features of his racing.
The 25-year-old opened up a gap in the final straight and crossed the line around 10 metres clear of Hocker. He then casually stopped the clock on his watch and wagged one finger at the crowd in celebration.
The victory marked another important step in Ingebrigtsen’s comeback from Achilles surgery in February. He admitted only a few weeks ago that he had feared his season might be over, but has since returned to competitive action, won the European title and now added a sub-13-minute 5,000m victory.
“This is amazing. Not many weeks ago I was telling my team that the 2026 season is far gone but then it started to get a little bit better,” Ingebrigtsen said. “There was a lot of hope and eventually I got my momentum going.”
The Norwegian was equally pleased with the level of his performance after his injury layoff.
“I have gained a lot from the races I’ve done in the last couple of weeks. I am extremely happy to run sub-13 minutes. Being injured I was fearing the worst outcome and did not know if I would be able to run at all especially at this level,” he said.
FROM ‘COWARDS’ TO A COMEBACK
The victory came just a week after Ingebrigtsen became one of the biggest talking points of the Diamond League final in Brussels, though not for the reason he would have wanted.
The Olympic champion had looked in contention for victory in the 1500m but faded in the final stages to finish fourth in 3:30.52. Australia’s Cameron Myers won the race in 3:30.14, with Kenya’s Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech second and America’s Ethan Strand third.
Ingebrigtsen was furious with the way the race had unfolded and criticised his opponents for sitting behind the pace rather than taking responsibility for the race.
“They want to run in a queue and hide themselves tonight, so that is what it is. I’m not a hider myself,” he said after the race.
The Norwegian also questioned the pacemaking tactics involving Hocker, who finished eighth, claiming the American had influenced a change in pacemakers that left the field running at a slower pace than he wanted.
His frustration boiled over in the mixed zone when he described the race as one against “a bunch of cowards”.
“It’s only Cameron [Myers] that’s a good racer, everyone else looked like losers, me included,” Ingebrigtsen said.
The comments quickly became one of the major talking points from the Diamond League final. Ingebrigtsen later apologised to his fellow athletes for the broader criticism, while maintaining his criticism of Hocker’s race tactics.
FOCUS SHIFTS BACK
The 5,000m victory offered Ingebrigtsen a chance to shift the focus back to his performances. It also underlined how quickly his season has changed after his Achilles injury initially threatened to keep him out of competition altogether.
The Norwegian is also entered in the 1,500m at the Ultimate Championship, setting up a highly anticipated meeting with Josh Kerr. It will be the first time the two long-time rivals have faced each other in two years.
WHAT IS ULTIMATE CHAMPIONSHIP?
The Ultimate Championship itself is a new addition to the athletics calendar, with World Athletics offering a record $10 million prize pot and bringing together the world’s leading athletes in high-stakes fields.
The inaugural event has also been designed as a different kind of athletics spectacle, with the traditional championship format replaced by fields featuring the world’s top 16 runners and top eight competitors in the throws and jumps.
The opening night in Budapest featured dramatic lighting, music and athlete walkouts, with World Athletics reporting a sold-out crowd of 20,557 at the Gyula Zsivotzky National Athletics Centre.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
