Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway has won his fourth consecutive 5,000-metres title at the European Championships in Birmingham, England. Ingebrigtsen, a two-time Olympic champion, made a successful comeback from injury, having undergone surgery earlier this year to address scar tissue on his left Achilles tendon.
In the 5,000-metres event, Ingebrigtsen was in third place before accelerating in the final 50 metres to pass Florian Bremm of Germany and cross the line in 13 minutes, 15:29 seconds. Bremm took second place, followed by France’s Etienne Daguinos.
Ingebrigtsen expressed his surprise and delight at his victory, stating, “Coming from the lowest of lows to be European champion again means the world to me. Not even I believed it could happen coming here. Only with 600 metres to go I knew I would win.” He added, “I am starting to feel more like myself. I doubted myself every day coming into this and every minute leading up to the last lap today, but I’m always hoping to do my best.”
Daguinos praised Ingebrigtsen, calling him “a legend of our sport.” Bremm also commented on Ingebrigtsen’s impressive performance, saying he looked to both sides and thought he had the win secured before Ingebrigtsen passed him.
Ingebrigtsen will not be competing in the 1500 metres event in Birmingham, having won both the 1500 and 5000 metres at the past three European Championships.
In other events, Amy Hunt of Britain won the women’s 100m with a time of 11 seconds, narrowly edging out Poland’s Ewa Swoboda (11.02) and Belgium’s Delphine Nkansa (11.06). Hunt’s teammate Dina Asher-Smith, the defending champion, finished fifth with a time of 11.10.
Additionally, Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands took gold in the shot put with a throw of 20.73m, followed by her teammate Jorinde van Klinken (19.64) in second place and Germany’s Yemisi Mabry (19.50) in third. Schilder’s victory marked her third consecutive win in the event.
Article source: jamaica-star.com | Image credit: The Lufkin Daily News
