Ingebrigtsen turns 1500m disappointment into 5000m gold at Paris Olympics

Only four days after his kick wasn’t enough to reach the podium in the 1500m, Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen stormed through the final lap of the men’s 5000m at a pace no one could match to win gold at the Paris Olympics on Saturday (10).

With a final lap of 53.2 seconds that included running the last 200m in 26.5, Ingebrigtsen won gold in a season’s best of 13:13.66, ahead of silver medallist Ronald Kwemoi of Kenya (13:15.04), who earned Kenya’s first medal in the event since 2012. Grant Fisher of the United States was third in 13:15.13, becoming the first US man ever to win medals in both the 5000m and 10,000m at a single Olympics.

It is the second consecutive Olympics in which Ingebrigtsen has earned a gold medal, joining his 1500m gold from Tokyo. It is also the third consecutive global championship in which Ingebrigtsen has not won the 1500m but rebounded to claim victory at 5000m.

Refocusing after an earlier disappointment “is a big part of sports,” Ingebrigtsen said. “I think many of the greatest athletes have defeats that will haunt them for the rest of their lives, but hopefully, the reward of accomplishing things and creating memories outweighs them.”

Ingebrigtsen believed the race’s pace would be slightly faster than it started, and Ethiopia’s Biniam Mehary and Addisu Yihune were leading a 22-man final as late as 4400m when compatriot Hagos Gebrhiwet created a one-stride lead on the field with a sprint to the front. Ingebrigtsen was one of the few who tried to immediately match the move and lurked in second as Gebrhiwet led entering the final lap.

“I caught up with him and felt strong at that point,” Ingebrigtsen said. “That’s the thing about the 5K. It’s all about spending your energy wisely and making good decisions.”

Ingebrigtsen took the lead with 200 metres to go and glanced at the scoreboard while rounding the bend to gauge his lead. Kwemoi came on strong and Fisher was next, improving from sixth to third in the final 80 metres. Fisher is the first US man ever to earn medals in both the 5000m and 10,000m at a single Olympics.

As the lead pack came off the final turn “every few steps I realised, I’m getting closer, I’m getting closer,” Fisher said. “With 100 to go, I looked up and thought, third isn’t that far away and I’m moving nicely.”

“It’s super validating. People say medals can’t be taken away and that’s the one thing that was missing.”

Great Britain’s George Mills, Mike Foppen of the Netherlands and Dominic Lobalu all were added to the final following a pile-up of bodies in the semifinal’s final 100m that left competitors tripping and falling over one another while jostling for position. The unpredictability extended to another semifinal as well, when USA’s Abdihamid Nur fell on the home straight. A jury of appeals later determined that Nur would not advance but Australia's Stewart McSweyn and France's Yann Schrub would. The rulings created a super-sized final that included 22 men.

In the final, Lobalu finished fourth, in 13:15.27. After leading for stretches of the final Gebrhiwet finished fifth, Mehary in sixth and Yihune in 14th.

Andrew Greif for World Athletics

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