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– Everyday life is very similar to what it used to be. I do many of the same things. It keeps me away from people. Use Antibac a lot. He works out a lot in the Gjert basement.
You really should have been at the altitude meeting in Flagstaff (USA) and prepared your first season as a senior. Instead, Jakob Ingebrigtsen is at home in Sandnes. He’s started to get used to the world being a little different than it normally is.
But while many point out that an Olympic delay is a small problem in the big picture, the 19-year-old doesn’t hide how he reacted when the Tokyo games were postponed until next summer.
– I was disappointed and thought I was extremely stupid. After the World Cup in Doha, he only focused on Tokyo, and couldn’t wait for it to arrive. Although it was probably the only sensible thing to do, it’s extremely stupid to wait, Ingebrigtsen tells NRK.
“Why am I doing this here?”
He has never claimed to be the type of athlete who invests in sports due to the tremendous joy of exercising in everyday life. Rather the opposite.
– Every time I put my shoes on, I think “why am I doing this here,” he admits.
– Then I think about it, and then I know why. That’s because I want to run fast and win races. And then I know that if I do this to the best of my ability, then I know it makes it a little bit easier to achieve the goals that I’ve set, ”says Ingebrigtsen.
DEPARTURE: Jakob Ingebrigtsen will replace fourth place in the World Cup with the Olympic medal as soon as possible.
Photo: NTB SCanpix
It is when there are no more races to win that this mindset is tested. At this time, it is completely uncertain when Jakob Ingebrigtsen will have the opportunity to compete again.
– It is not that difficult when there are races and competitions, my motivation is to win the Olympics and the World Cup and run as fast as I can. If it is tomorrow or the day after tomorrow is not so careful. But of course I’m not very patient with me, he admits.
– Do you feel like you lost one of your best years as an athlete?
– Clearly, but it’s in line with everyone else. I have faith that my 19, 20, 21 and 22 years will be the best. So it’s obvious that you lose something that could be quite good, he says.
Injury helped the body
Because it looked like it could be a brilliant year. A somewhat troublesome end of 2019 turned out to be an optimal recording for 2020.
A load injury to his rear, triggered during the European Championships in the off-road race in December, caused Jakob Ingebrigtsen to apply the emergency brake in training. For five or six weeks he was unable to run at all.
– It’s always stupid to get hurt. There is no athlete who likes him, but he is often the best in the situations you find yourself in. After the World Cup in Doha I was very tired after a long season, I could see that it hurt a lot. I was really expecting it. That was good enough, because he knew the body needed a period to fully recover, he says.
Afterwards, everything went brilliantly. Jakob Ingebrigtsen makes no secret that he is better than at the same time last year. He finished with a season in which he finished second in the world ranking of 1500 meters.
NEXT BEST: Timothy Cheruiyot is back in goal, something Jakob Ingebrigtsen has had enough of. Now he wants to go to the rally.
Photo: Francisco Seco / AP
Imagine beating Cheruiyot
Although he had to contend with a fourth place in the distance in the World Cup, it was the season closest to the magnificent Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot.
– To try to beat Cheruiyot. I think about it a lot. It’s not like that if he’s in the Diamond League, the Olympics or the World Cup, but he’s the best and that’s what I want to beat, says Ingebrigtsen.
– Have you also considered beating Cheruiyot at the Olympics?
– Yes, I’ve seen it many times before. If I’m better and he’s on the same level, it’s not necessarily impossible to follow him in a 3.29 race, if he lies and shoots like in the Doha World Cup final.
When there is now no Olympic final in 2020, Jakob Ingebrigtsen is also trying to see the positive in the situation.
– The longer you delay, the better we will be, because then we will train more. For its part, it can be a setback. But for everything else, I’d like to win it all now, he admits.
And that it’s about winning gold is no secret.
– My goal is always to be the best and try to win. Although it is not realistic, it will always be the objective. And, of course, you will always be disappointed if you do not achieve your goals. For me, only gold matters, ”says Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
