Cooked and cracked for running a 1302 5k in his first week of racing in six months, after recurring injury, huh?
Id probably need perfect wind conditions and a post race IV to run two miles in 1302 under similar conditions at this point in life after half year off.
If he's actually healthy now (big IF) and running 13:02 off no running then I'll go out on a limb and say he skips his break this winter, trains through, and breaks a world record in Spring.
He showed up to avoid reduction in his contract. Going a season without competing is auto reduction in his contract - most usually 20-25%. Nike cut Felix for not racing during her pregnancy so even elites get whacked if they don't compete.
He sat two world records in the indoor season, no way Nike would reduce his contract based on this year.
If he's actually healthy now (big IF) and running 13:02 off no running then I'll go out on a limb and say he skips his break this winter, trains through, and breaks a world record in Spring.
Yes, the real test is if he’s able to train without interruption. You’d look no further than his brothers to see this is no given. He seems reluctant to do it, but I could see the argument for incorporating a little more cross training into his base training to see if that takes pressure off his Achilles.
No so fast. He didn't do well in these WC, but he's coming off of injury. Next year will be a better indicator of if he's done or not. I, personally, don't think he's done.
Exactly. Talent doesn’t just disappear from an athlete. It’s always there. If he can fully recover from his injury and get back to training at his previous levels he can still win and potentially set more WRs. It’s almost like people on here suffer from short term memory. He’s run 3000m (7:17.55), 2000m (4:43.13), 2-mile (7:54.10), indoor 1500m (3:29.63), and indoor mile (3:45.14), all WRs within the last 2 years.
The man woke up from the dead, put running shoes on, and ran faster than any other Norwegian has ever done in the 5000m.
That says a lot about Jakob, but a lot more about the gap to the #2 Norwegian. Even though he knew he had no chance of winning he still ran a tactically astute race and put himself in contention, instead of just lingering off the tail and never closing the gap that appears when the guy you're drafting behind starts fading.
He's way ahead of other Norwegians, even with this run. 13:02.00 in this final, yesterday, 21 September, 2025, Tokyo.
Norwegian all time 5000
1. Jakob Ingebrigtsen 12:48.45 (2021)
2. Nordås 13:04.85 (2025, February Boston indoors)
3. M Bakken 13:06.39, Rome 2004
4. M Myhre 13:06.98, Oordegem, 2025
5. F.Ingebrigtsen 13:11.75, Rome, 2019
6. S.Buraas 13:11.96, Heusden, 2015
7. A.Kibrab 13:14.93, Oordegem, 2025
8. P.Svela 13:18.61, Dublin, 2024
9. A.Nakkim 13:19.82, Oslo, 1989
10. S.Moen 13:20.16, Heusden, July, 2017 (Monster Moen went on to win Fukuoka marathon in December, 2:05+!)
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The man woke up from the dead, put running shoes on, and ran faster than any other Norwegian has ever done in the 5000m.
That says a lot about Jakob, but a lot more about the gap to the #2 Norwegian. Even though he knew he had no chance of winning he still ran a tactically astute race and put himself in contention, instead of just lingering off the tail and never closing the gap that appears when the guy you're drafting behind starts fading.
He's way ahead of other Norwegians, even with this run. 13:02.00 in this final, yesterday, 21 September, 2025, Tokyo.
Norwegian all time 5000
1. Jakob Ingebrigtsen 12:48.45 (2021)
2. Nordås 13:04.85 (2025, February Boston indoors)
3. M Bakken 13:06.39, Rome 2004
4. M Myhre 13:06.98, Oordegem, 2025
5. F.Ingebrigtsen 13:11.75, Rome, 2019
6. S.Buraas 13:11.96, Heusden, 2015
7. A.Kibrab 13:14.93, Oordegem, 2025
8. P.Svela 13:18.61, Dublin, 2024
9. A.Nakkim 13:19.82, Oslo, 1989
10. S.Moen 13:20.16, Heusden, July, 2017 (Monster Moen went on to win Fukuoka marathon in December, 2:05+!)
Let's compare the standard of 5,000 meters in Norway (5.6 million) with Ireland (5.1 million) because they both have similar populations. Here is the Irish all time top 10.
1. B.Fay 13:01.40, 2023
2. D.McElhinney 13:02.06, 2025
3. A.Cragg 13:03.53, 2011
4. M.Carroll 13:03.93, 1998
5. N.Griggs 13:05.75, 2025
6. A.Coscoran 13:11.05, 2025
7. F.O'Mara 13:13.02, 1987
8. J.Doherty 13:14.17, 1990
9. J.Treacy 13:16.81, 1984 (a few weeks later Olympic silver in the marathon)
10. C.Finnerty 13:18.07, 1995
Ireland superior to Norway in depth overall. 2025 was a monster year for young Irish 5k runners. Griggs, McElhinney (25) etc are 25 or under (Griggs, 21). Fay is 27. Coscoran, 29.
So he couldn’t even run the week before the first round of 1500s and has had 6 mos of feeling ok then setbacks. What was the point of risking his whole career when he knew what shape he was in? Even being a Jakob fan, I’ll say that seems like a dumb move.
You run and race until you can't.
JI might not have been in the best shape and he might have had some flare-ups but he didn't seem to be in any pain during his races.
He came through these WCs better than Kerr did so I say good for Jingy.
Thats a weird way to look at it.
Risking a next season, potentially years, by competeting in "terrible" shape is not wise.
Getting through better than a guy that came last because of an in-competition-injury is nothing to brag about, doesnt matter if that guy is his main competitor.
He will have a second act I think. Interesting as always, we can't fool mother nature. Every time there is a supposed shift in training philosophy and the promises that come with it, the body isn't fooled. All this junk about double threshold being easier on the body sounded right when he was young and injury free. Seems like no matter what we do, nature finds a way. Stress is stress.
East Africans have genetic advantage born at altitude blah blah blah... well the world caught up quickly. Mostly euros and americans in 5k final. Euro wins 10k. Seems like everything comes back to square one.
just saying and kinda unrelated, as much as Jakob got pushed out of 1500m heats in outdoor WCs, he's probably got out of 2025 way better than most others results wise, given that he got the indoor WC double gold.
If anything I would think his being a prodigy has taken a toll. His body has had to work far harder for longer than for most athletes his age. Andre Agassi, the great tennis player, said when the end comes in a career it comes quickly. I believe we are unfortunately seeing that with Ingebrigtsen. The recurrent injuries will end his career. He can never regain what he was.