Jacob will make his debut over 13.1 miles
The Norwegian superstar will run over 13.1 miles in the Danish capital just two days after his Diamond League 1500m win
The talk is over. Jakob Ingebrigtsen will run the half-marathon in Copenhagen (September 15) and the anticipation could not be greater.
Ingebrigtsen will make his debut over 13.1 miles just two days after claiming victory in the 1500m at the Diamond League final in Brussels.
Jacob
The Norwegian will be entering the unknown and the Copenhagen Half will be by far the longest competitive race of his career.
Jacob Ingebrigtsen does have a 10km personal best of 27:54 – still a European U20 record – but that was set all the way back in 2019.
“I’m looking forward to test myself in the half marathon for the first time, in Copenhagen,” said Ingebrigtsen. “Normally this is a distance that would suit my training very well but after a long season on the track working towards the 1500m, it’s exciting to see if I even can reach the finish line.”
For days, rumours have persisted that Ingebrigtsen would make his half-marathon debut in Copenhagen.
Throughout the Brussels Diamond League, including in both the press conference and mixed zone, the 23-year-old kept his cards close to his chest.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Getty)
After claiming the 1500m crown, Ingebrigtsen teased his 2024 campaign wasn’t totally over, posting on Instagram: “What a great way to end the season… or?”.
The Norwegian has opened up about his ambitions to break up to 10 world records during his career, which essentially means everything from 1500m to the marathon.
Breaking the world half-marathon record of 57:31, set by Jacob Kiplimo in 2021, may have to wait a few years but Julien Wanders’ European mark of 59:13 from 2019 could be a target.
Ingebrigtsen will actually stand shoulder to shoulder with Kiplimo and reigning world 10km champion Sabastian Sawe, in what is set to be a blockbuster race in Denmark.
Jacob Kiplimo (Getty)
“When an Olympic gold medalist chooses to run in Copenhagen it’s because the city, the course and the audience deliver something special,” said Dorte Vibjerg, CEO of Sparta Athletics & Running.
“It is an excellent opportunity to be able to offer the spectators and the participants to experience an icon like Jakob Ingebrigtsen in a duel with both the world champion and the world record-holder in the half-marathon. For us, this underlines why Copenhagen Half Marathon is sold out in record time and why Copenhagen has been selected to host the World Championships in 2026.”
At 17 kilometres, Sawe, the world champion from Riga in October of last year, pulled ahead of Lasoi, but the Ugandan sprinter battled his way back to the lead. In the last meters, he and Sawe engaged in a duel, but Sawe—being the stronger of the two—crossed the finish line in 58:05, barely missing the course record.
Lasoi trailed by one second, and Kiplimo was four seconds behind.
Jacob Ingebrigtsen said afterward, “Twenty-one km is definitely too long! I’m definitely not going to try again for a couple of years. It’s fun but tough. I tried to stay with the leading group for as long as I could… I’d say the first 5km was definitely fast but I think they ran maybe a little bit slower than they said they were going to do the first couple of kilometres. Then they did a kick so I think from 5-10km was pretty fast.
“I think I did a Norwegian record for 10km and that’s good enough for me today. I had no chance mentally and my legs are definitely too tired. I’m not prepared enough to stay the whole distance today but a lot of fun to finish off my season. Now I don’t have a choice, I’m forced to cool down and relax a little bit.”
Ingebrigtsen gave thanks to the crowd for helping him complete the race. He added, “It was just amazing. I would never have been able to finish and definitely not that fast if it wasn’t for the crowd. So many people lining the course and they were cheering for me and the rest of the guys. A great event and great experience even though it’s extremely tough.”
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