Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Hagos Gebrhiwet battle in London (© Kirby Lee)
Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be among the athletes looking to test their form when he races over 1500m at the Muller Grand Prix – the first Wanda Diamond League meeting of 2021 – in Gateshead, UK, on Sunday 23 May.
He will do so in front of a venue crowd, with the Gateshead International Stadium able to welcome up to 2000 spectators for the meeting.
Norwegian 20-year-old Ingebrigtsen won European indoor 1500m and 3000m titles in Torun in March, emulating the success he achieved in Glasgow two years earlier when he claimed 3000m gold and 1500m silver. He returned to the UK in the July to finish second in the London Diamond League 5000m, breaking the Norwegian record with 13:02.03.
The European 1500m record-holder with 3:28.68 set in Monaco last year, Ingebrigtsen is also the reigning European outdoor champion at 1500m and 5000m.
“I had a great time racing in Glasgow at the European Indoor Championships a couple of years ago and I’ve also run a few times at the Olympic Stadium in London. So I’m hoping for another good experience in Britain at the Diamond League in Gateshead next week,” he said.
“I’ve been training hard lately but I enjoy testing myself in competition and this meeting will be a good race to see where I am in the run-up to the Olympics.”
Joining him in Gateshead will be Britain’s Elliot Giles, who ran 1:43.63 in February to move to second on the world indoor 800m all-time list, plus Australian 1500m record-holder Stewart McSweyn and his compatriots Ollie Hoare, Matthew Ramsden and Ryan Gregson.
Other British athletes on the entry list include national 1500m champion George Mills, Piers Copeland and Archie Davis.
As previously announced, the women’s 100m in Gateshead will feature a world-class line-up including Dina Asher-Smith, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah and Sha’Carri Richardson, while the men’s pole vault sees a clash between Mondo Duplantis, Sam Kendricks and Piotr Lisek.
The women’s 1500m will see European champion Laura Muir in action and she will be joined by fellow British athletes Melissa Courtney-Bryant, Eilish McColgan, Adelle Tracey and Holly Archer.
Organisers for World Athletics
