Bislett (Nitavisen): Jakob Ingebrigtsen finished his Diamond League season with an English mile and 3,000m in Eugene at last year’s world championships this weekend.
After three weeks of illness that dampened the Norwegian’s performances in the 1,500 and 5,000 meters in Budapest, Ingebrigtsen appears to be feeling better again.
Just days after setting the 2000m world record in Brussels and just days before the Diamond League final in Eugene, Nettavisen meets Ingebrigtsen in Bislett.
– It was a record I thought I had a good chance of breaking when I planned this race. But then I didn’t feel good in Budapest, and actually after coming home. “I think I did a lot of things right in training over the last 10 days,” Ingebrigtsen says of the performance in Brussels.
-I tried to do the bare minimum and recover as much as possible. Then I think that was just enough days, so the muscles became very good, says Ingebrigtsen.
Because he has no doubt that the virus he contracted in Budapest hampered his performance during the World Cup.
He thinks he saw uncertainty in Jacob
After the 1,500-meter race, gold medalist Josh Kerr stated that he saw signs of weakness in Ingebrigtsen already in the semifinals, at which time Ingebrigtsen felt a slight dry throat.
It was Ingebrigtsen’s gesture towards the crowd in the 1500m semi-final that made Kerr believe he had a good chance of beating the Norwegian.
– I think it comes from uncertainty. I think he panicked a little bit in the semi-final. He managed to get to the front and he knew he was going to make it, and everything was fine. The last time he did so was in the 5000m time trial heat after being beaten by Whitman. I’ve done it before, I’ve celebrated semi-finals when I was at my worst, so I think it comes from the uncertainty,” Kerr told Citius Mag. He continued:
– Something happened that made him feel down and he was no longer the center of attention like he usually was. He has set world records and set very fast times. When that happened (gesture) it didn’t bother me that he did it. It made me angry because I knew there was a reason why he did it. Something must have happened for us to get to the point where he no longer feels like the center.
Strikes again
In the face of Kerr’s comments, Ingebrigtsen raises her eyebrows somewhat in surprise.
– I think this is not true.
– But maybe you didn’t feel your best before the semi-finals either?
– Yes, then I felt good. This race I felt really good, and then the next three days got worse.
Unconfirmed or not, there’s no doubt anyway that Ingebrigtsen’s confidence is impeccable ahead of Saturday’s England tilt in Eugene.
Because when American Jared Nogus was asked about his chances of breaking Alan Webb’s American distance record of 3.46.91, the Norwegian couldn’t help himself.
– Just stay with me as long as you can, and we’ll get you to 3.46, the Norwegian said confidently at the press conference on Friday.
The English mile, with Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Narvi Gilge Nordas on the start line, starts at 22:50 Norwegian time. Carsten Warholm runs the 400-meter hurdles in 21:02.
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