Jakob Ingebrigtsen has withdrawn from Portugal’s Euro Cross

The Norwegian had hoped to win a fourth individual title at the championships, but withdrew “to focus fully on the 2026 season”.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen has announced that he will not participate in next week’s European Championships in Lagoa, Portugal (December 14).

Initially selected to represent Norway at the 31st championships, Ingebrigtsen hoped to secure a fourth senior individual gold medal.

The 25-year-old would become the third four-time winner of the senior men’s race in Eurocross history, following Ukraine’s Sergey Lebid and Portugal’s Paulo Guerra, who have won nine and four senior titles respectively.

However, Ingebrigtsen, who has been running high in the Sierra Nevada for the past few weeks, withdrew from the championship to “focus fully on the 2026 season.”

According to Norwegian outlet NRK, there is no new injury for Ingebrigtsen, who is now returning to full training after recovering from Achilles problems last summer.

Ingebrigtsen started the year well with wins in the 1500m and 3000m at the European and World Indoor Championships.

Forced to miss the entire Diamond League season, Ingebrigtsen opened at the World Outdoor Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where she was eliminated from the 1500m to finish 10th in the 5000m final.