After missing out on a fourth global title, the Norwegian is faced with a ‘stick or fold’ dilemma.
In the movie Edge of TomorrowTom Cruise appears in the Groundhog Day era where he tries to destroy an alien invasion. Every time he dies, he wakes up and starts the day over, getting a little closer to his goal with each attempt.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen must feel a bit like that in the 1500m at the World Championships. After winning Olympic gold in 2021, Samuel Tefera moved on to the 2022 indoor world title in Belgrade, Jake Wightman to the 2022 world outdoor gold in Eugene, Josh Kerr to the 2023 outdoor world title in Budapest and now Cole Hawker in Paris. Olympic Games. To add insult to injury, he did not win a medal either.
By comparison, over 5000m he won the last two world titles and this year’s Olympic crown with relative ease. With that in mind, some suggest he should cut his losses in the 1500m and focus on the longer events.
The topic even came up in Ingebrigtsen’s press conference after his 5000m victory in Paris. Sitting next to him, Paris 5,000m and 10,000m bronze medalist Grant Fisher described the 1,500m as the “human event” of the Games and that it would be an “overreaction” to drop it.
Throughout history, there are many examples of great athletes persevering in an event before finally tasting success. Seb Coe missed out on major 800m championships in 1978, 1980, 1982 and 1984 before beating Steve Cram and Tom McKean in the 1986 European Spitfires out of the sun final.
Coe, McKean and Cram in 1986 (Mark Shearman)
So the question is not so much whether Ingebrigtsen should stay at 1,500 meters, but what tactics he should use. The world record speed leader (400m in 54.8 and 800m in 1:51.5) didn’t work for him in Paris. So what are the options?
Run even faster!
Hicham El Gerouj’s world record since 1998 saw the Moroccan clock 54.3 for 400m and 1:50.7 for 800m on his way to 3:26:00. If Ingebrigtsen is in similar form next year, he could potentially run away from his rivals. Two problems, however. Its competitors are increasingly able to cope with such rates. El Geruj also had a pacemaker.
Start fast and get faster
Nick Willis, a two-time Olympic 1500m medalist from New Zealand, recently suggested that if Ingebrigtsen leads at a fast pace in the early stages, his rivals will have to waste energy jockeying for position and running wide behind. The strategy involves Ingebrigtsen taking an honest (but not crazy) pace for maybe 800m and then turning more aggressively in the last 700m, but after running the entire race on the curb.
Average race growth
Let’s call this Jurgen Straub’s strategy. In the 1980 Olympic finals, Straub ran a slow 2:04.9 in the 800m, but then ran a 54.2 third lap. Coe and Steve Ovett were pushed to the limit and, although Straub didn’t win, he took a surprise silver medal ahead of Ovett. Sure, Straub was part of the East German system, but the tactical class still works.
Hicham El Gerouj (Mark Shearman)
Act as an unofficial pacemaker
This is a controversial and pointless tactic in the major leagues, but El Geruj used it several times during his prime. In the 2000 Olympic final in Sydney, his compatriot Youssef Baba led the 400m in 54.14, although Baba let the pace slip in the second lap (1:54.77 for 800m), at which point El Gerouj stepped up and could not let go of his the pace Kenyan Noa Ngeni knocked out the Moroccan rivals.
His tactic of using a teammate as a sacrificial rabbit worked at the 1999 and 2001 World Cups, however, with Adil Couch leading in the early stages before El Gerouj would cruise to victory.
Somehow I can’t see Norway’s Narve Gilje Nordås helping Ingebrigtsen with speed though.
Work on your sprint
Ingebrigtsen’s training regimen is aimed at improving endurance. The Norwegian does short hill repeats in the winter, and no doubt some of his training near the top is very fast, but maybe it’s time to spend a little more time on his ability to sprint and change speed late in the race.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins Olympic 1500m gold (Getty)
Hopefully someone else will lead the early stages
Timothee Cheruiot led the 400m to 1400m (800m in 1:51.8) final at the Tokyo Olympics. There are also a number of potential front-runners at the moment who will enjoy a tougher pace from the early stages, such as Jared Nugus of the United States.
To summarize
I think Ingebrigtsen has been beaten by a better man in his last four 1500m global finals, but with this year’s best of 3:26.73 (and last year’s 3:43.73 mile) it’s certainly not time to pass. the event.
As for tactics and strategy, there could also be further clues this season when Ingebrigtsen takes on Olympic champion Cole Hawker in Lausanne on August 22 and then. Hawker, Nugus and Kerr in Zurich on September 5.
» Subscribe to AW Magazine here
