According to NRK and a press release from his press advisor Espen Skoland, Jakob Ingebrigtsen has confirmed that he will be on the start line in Tokyo.
He is yet to confirm which distance(s) he will run, but he confirms that he will not run any other competitions leading up to Tokyo, stating that this is less than ideal but so be it.
He also posted on facebook yesterday that he did a 20x400 track session, but not giving any details on pace.
As a Norwegian Jakob fanboy I love that he is back, but I don't fancy his odds of winning the 1500 after watching Laros the last weeks
Huge news. No way this guy hasn’t been grinding – you can tell he’s been living like a monk. Oh he’s gonna double in the 1500 and the 5k. Jakob says this in the interview:
"It might not be totally ideal to run a World Championship without any races in my legs, but so be it. I’m running. This is what I live for. To compete. How hard can it really be?”
The 1500 is gonna be a total bloodbath though. Not convinced Laros has it – kid’s been racing like every weekend, season’s been way too long. Peaking a bit too early? Can he survive three rounds without blowing? Jakob’s the polar opposite. He’s been dying to get on the line. Guy’s a machine. Built for rounds, gets sharper every race. Dude basically treats heats like tempo runs while everyone else is tying up.
If this is the year Jakob finally wins the 1500, it would be one of the funnier twists of irony in recent memory. But something tells me he won’t be sharp enough on just two rounds worth of racing for the season and will not have enough in the last lap of the final, so I’m predicting something like 5th or 6th. He will double back to win the 5000m of course.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
If this is the year Jakob finally wins the 1500, it would be one of the funnier twists of irony in recent memory. But something tells me he won’t be sharp enough on just two rounds worth of racing for the season and will not have enough in the last lap of the final, so I’m predicting something like 5th or 6th. He will double back to win the 5000m of course.
Really a huge proponent of Ingebrigtsen here; but I just can’t see him winning the 15 in Tokyo. Think of all the gunfighters:
Phanuel
Kerr
Habz
Cole
Laros
The quality through the field is shockingly good. Sad to not see Nuguse in there, but I think he ruined his chances with the late mile indoor wr attempt and GST.
Both Kerr and Cole look less formidable than their 2024 selves. New Kenyan is probably the favorite. Jakob might benefit from not pressing the pace the entire way and instead making a sustained move from 6-700m out. If he had done this in Paris he would have won.
If this is the year Jakob finally wins the 1500, it would be one of the funnier twists of irony in recent memory. But something tells me he won’t be sharp enough on just two rounds worth of racing for the season and will not have enough in the last lap of the final, so I’m predicting something like 5th or 6th. He will double back to win the 5000m of course.
Really a huge proponent of Ingebrigtsen here; but I just can’t see him winning the 15 in Tokyo. Think of all the gunfighters:
Phanuel
Kerr
Habz
Cole
Laros
The quality through the field is shockingly good. Sad to not see Nuguse in there, but I think he ruined his chances with the late mile indoor wr attempt and GST.
He's gonna run it like last time he was in Tokyo 🙏🙏🙏
If Jakob comes back from injury with no tune up races and snares the 1500k Gold in Tokyo that would at least match his greatest achievements. Him not being allowed to run in Zurich just increases the anticipation
If Jakob comes back from injury with no tune up races and snares the 1500k Gold in Tokyo that would at least match his greatest achievements. Him not being allowed to run in Zurich just increases the anticipation
Agreed. There is no downside to Jakob racing the 1500m this year, aside from reinjuring himself in Tokyo. If he misses the podium in his first competition of the outdoor season on the biggest stage of 2025 due to Koech, Laros, Kerr, Habz, and R. Cheruiyot(the true dark horse this season imo), its very excusable and even encouraging going into the 2026 outdoor season. But man, if he somehow wins the 1500m, with no pacers/wave lights and zero race tune-up - undisputed greatness.
Making the final isnt necessarily a given but more than likely. Slow tactical final is possible and doesn't favor JI in the least. He broke the indoor mile in a one off effort, fist race of his season. If he says hes ready to race, I believe him. I have observed all the races like many others. Laros is by far looking like he has the zip off any pace, fast or slow most consistently an more importantly, most recently. At this time I believe Laros is most capable to win off any pace against any of the others. He's definitely on a roll at the right time and hungry to prove himself to the world. Timing is everything. The planets are aligned for him. Next year will be even more interesting.
On another note, not a new problem but think about which athletes are struggling now. How many of them put too much into running fast indoors and are cooked for a late season WC? Remember, a month earlier to get through rounds and then follow up with some great one off all out efforts wasn't such a bad thing to finish the season. What do you people think? Should it go back or are athletes just going to have to give up some money to be more prepared for the last meet? Are we relying on a 16 year old to come through for USA in 800 because all the other pros are cooked?
Huge news. No way this guy hasn’t been grinding – you can tell he’s been living like a monk. Oh he’s gonna double in the 1500 and the 5k. Jakob says this in the interview:
"It might not be totally ideal to run a World Championship without any races in my legs, but so be it. I’m running. This is what I live for. To compete. How hard can it really be?”
The 1500 is gonna be a total bloodbath though. Not convinced Laros has it – kid’s been racing like every weekend, season’s been way too long. Peaking a bit too early? Can he survive three rounds without blowing? Jakob’s the polar opposite. He’s been dying to get on the line. Guy’s a machine. Built for rounds, gets sharper every race. Dude basically treats heats like tempo runs while everyone else is tying up.
The last sighting of Jakob was in Amish country. He was living incognito on a farm trying to nurse his injuries.
It's be fun if Jacob disproves all the naysayers and wins the double t worlds, but even if he is injury-free there's no way he has the incredible aerobic base that he has always relied on.
Making the final isnt necessarily a given but more than likely. Slow tactical final is possible and doesn't favor JI in the least. He broke the indoor mile in a one off effort, fist race of his season. If he says hes ready to race, I believe him. I have observed all the races like many others. Laros is by far looking like he has the zip off any pace, fast or slow most consistently an more importantly, most recently. At this time I believe Laros is most capable to win off any pace against any of the others. He's definitely on a roll at the right time and hungry to prove himself to the world. Timing is everything. The planets are aligned for him. Next year will be even more interesting.
On another note, not a new problem but think about which athletes are struggling now. How many of them put too much into running fast indoors and are cooked for a late season WC? Remember, a month earlier to get through rounds and then follow up with some great one off all out efforts wasn't such a bad thing to finish the season. What do you people think? Should it go back or are athletes just going to have to give up some money to be more prepared for the last meet? Are we relying on a 16 year old to come through for USA in 800 because all the other pros are cooked?
Indoors isn’t an issue. Running GST/diamond league meets in June probably was.
We have a bunch of guys who haven’t raced in a month. It will be interesting to see how they do. Is Hocker peaking? What has Kerr been up to? Strand cooked or has the month recharged him? And so on
It's be fun if Jacob disproves all the naysayers and wins the double t worlds, but even if he is injury-free there's no way he has the incredible aerobic base that he has always relied on.
Why is there no way? It's not like he was injured for a year. He was in great shape as late as March 23rd this year and he kept up his training up until the injury and seemed to be doing a ton of cross training and is now back to full training. I wouldn't rule him out.
If this is the year Jakob finally wins the 1500, it would be one of the funnier twists of irony in recent memory. But something tells me he won’t be sharp enough on just two rounds worth of racing for the season and will not have enough in the last lap of the final, so I’m predicting something like 5th or 6th. He will double back to win the 5000m of course.
“… funnier twists of irony…”? Why would it be funny or ironic? When did such a race occur prior to recently memory? Saying it would be impressive or spectacular seems more appropriate.
Making the final isnt necessarily a given but more than likely. Slow tactical final is possible and doesn't favor JI in the least. He broke the indoor mile in a one off effort, fist race of his season. If he says hes ready to race, I believe him. I have observed all the races like many others. Laros is by far looking like he has the zip off any pace, fast or slow most consistently an more importantly, most recently. At this time I believe Laros is most capable to win off any pace against any of the others. He's definitely on a roll at the right time and hungry to prove himself to the world. Timing is everything. The planets are aligned for him. Next year will be even more interesting.
On another note, not a new problem but think about which athletes are struggling now. How many of them put too much into running fast indoors and are cooked for a late season WC? Remember, a month earlier to get through rounds and then follow up with some great one off all out efforts wasn't such a bad thing to finish the season. What do you people think? Should it go back or are athletes just going to have to give up some money to be more prepared for the last meet? Are we relying on a 16 year old to come through for USA in 800 because all the other pros are cooked?
Indoors isn’t an issue. Running GST/diamond league meets in June probably was.
We have a bunch of guys who haven’t raced in a month. It will be interesting to see how they do. Is Hocker peaking? What has Kerr been up to? Strand cooked or has the month recharged him? And so on
Yes it does. And how many of the guys you mentioned actually have injury? The guys that aren't chasing money and aren't injured are most ready if they can be race sharp which is hard to do if you aren't racing. Not that you have to race all the time but a guy like Hocker is cutting it close this year. That also tells you how much talent someone like SML has on the 400H field but the flat 400 isn't her race. I respect not over racing and calculating scheduled test efforts for sure. I think I sprints and field events can get by with more traveling and competition than 800 on up. But realistically, JI would be shocking if he medals considering all the recovery time and no races.
According to NRK and a press release from his press advisor Espen Skoland, Jakob Ingebrigtsen has confirmed that he will be on the start line in Tokyo.
He is yet to confirm which distance(s) he will run, but he confirms that he will not run any other competitions leading up to Tokyo, stating that this is less than ideal but so be it.
He also posted on facebook yesterday that he did a 20x400 track session, but not giving any details on pace.
As a Norwegian Jakob fanboy I love that he is back, but I don't fancy his odds of winning the 1500 after watching Laros the last weeks
I hope he runs the 1500. Itll be awesome to see him race hocker,laros,and some others.
If this is the year Jakob finally wins the 1500, it would be one of the funnier twists of irony in recent memory. But something tells me he won’t be sharp enough on just two rounds worth of racing for the season and will not have enough in the last lap of the final, so I’m predicting something like 5th or 6th. He will double back to win the 5000m of course.
Really a huge proponent of Ingebrigtsen here; but I just can’t see him winning the 15 in Tokyo. Think of all the gunfighters:
Phanuel
Kerr
Habz
Cole
Laros
The quality through the field is shockingly good. Sad to not see Nuguse in there, but I think he ruined his chances with the late mile indoor wr attempt and GST.
Habz has run his season, Laros is going great but championships are a different beast.
My money is on Hocker, a nice guy, but very a crafty racer who is becoming more crafty by the season.
Top 3 Jakob, Kerr, Hocker being my favourite.
Koech is a bit like Habz in that he seems to be less sharp than his PR shape.
Kerr is a bit of a dark horse for me, insofar as I really have no idea if he's in top-top shape or not.
I can guarantee you Jakob will be right up there. The lack of racing is not a negative for a man of his ability.