Why Jakob Ingebrigtsen has withdrawn from European Cross Country Championships
.jpg)
Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 09.12.25. | 13:41
Though he managed to compete at the World Championships in Tokyo, he struggled, exiting in the 1500m heats and finishing tenth in the 5000m final
Jakob Ingebrigtsen will not defend his European Cross Country title this year.
The 25-year-old Norwegian, who was initially named in the national team on Tuesday, 25 November, has opted to withdraw from the championships to fully dedicate himself to preparations for what he hopes will be a historic 2026 season.
Follow our WhatsApp channel for more news
Norwegian Athletics Association sports director Erlend Slokvik confirmed the decision, noting that Ingebrigtsen has been training at altitude and is choosing long-term goals over another continental crown.
“Jakob has had a perfect training period at altitude in recent weeks and has decided to skip the European Cross Country Championships to focus fully on the 2026 season. We support the decision and look forward to the upcoming season,” Slokvik said.
Ingebrigtsen’s absence will be a major blow for Norway.
The former world champion has dominated Europe’s cross-country scene, winning the senior men’s title three times, in 2021, 2022, and most recently in 2024 in Antalya, Turkey.
His withdrawal means Magnus Tuv Myhre and Filip Ingebrigtsen will lead Norway.
Myhre won European silver in 2023 behind Yann Schrub, while Filip, Jakob’s older brother, claimed gold in the senior race at the 2018 SPAR European Championships.
The duo will shoulder the nation’s hopes when the team lines up in Portugal.
Despite being just 25, Ingebrigtsen has already assembled one of the most decorated résumés in distance running.
He is a two-time Olympic champion, winning the 1500m gold in 2021 and the 5000m title in 2024.
.jpg)
At the World Championships, he clinched back-to-back 5000m crowns in 2022 and 2023.
At the European level, he has been nearly untouchable. Ingebrigtsen owns nine outdoor European golds, including doubles in the 1500m and 5000m in 2018, 2022, and 2024.
Indoors, he has added seven European Indoor titles, excelling in the 1500m and 3000m between 2019 and 2025.
Ingebrigtsen did not have a dream 2025 season after it was disrupted by injury.
He, however, revealed that he is turning his energy toward a massive comeback.
He suffered an Achilles tendon injury back in May that robbed him of training consistency and forced him out of altitude camps and the Diamond League circuit.
Though he managed to compete at the World Championships in Tokyo, he struggled, exiting in the 1500m heats and finishing tenth in the 5000m final.
But even in a troubled year, he set a world record in the short-track mile in February and completed a stunning double, 1500m and 3000m, at both the European and World Indoor Championships, becoming only the second man after Haile Gebrselassie to pull off that feat at a single World Indoors.
Now healthy, rested, and refocused, Ingebrigtsen has declared his intention to chase three outdoor world records in 2026: the 1500m, the mile, and the 5000m.
He already owns world records in the 2000m, 3000m, and two miles, and has openly expressed his desire to ultimately break ten.
His personal bests, 3:26.73 for 1500m and 3:43.73 for the mile, place him tantalizingly close to Hicham El Guerrouj’s longstanding marks of 3:26.00 and 3:43.13.
The 5000m world record, set at 12:35.36 by Joshua Cheptegei in 2020, remains a bigger leap, though not impossible for an athlete of his caliber.
With no Olympics or World Championships scheduled for 2026, the calendar offers a rare window for record-breaking attempts.
The European Championships in Birmingham in August and the newly introduced World Athletics Ultimate Championships later in the year provide high-profile stages but fewer strategic constraints.
