"It's European Championships and Olympic medals that matter" - Jakob Ingebrigtsen withdraws from World Indoor Championships 2024
Jakob Ingebrigtsen has opted out of the World Indoor Championships 2024, slated from March 1 to March 3, 2024, at the Commonwealth Arena in Glasgow, United Kingdom. He cited an Achilles injury as the reason for his withdrawal.
Previously, the four-time world champion missed out on the 2023 European Cross Country Championships held on December 10, 2023, owing to a sacrum injury. Besides this, there are no announcements regarding him competing in any indoor events.
Ingebrigtsen spoke to the Norwegian media outlet VG (via Citius Mag), stating:
"For me, it's European Championships and Olympic medals that matter…I love competing, but sometimes you have to make some tactical and boring priorities."
Jakob Ingebrigtsen started the year 2023 by winning two gold medals at the European Indoor Championships. While he established a championship record in the men’s 1500m with a time of 3:33.95, he ran a Norwegian record at the 3000 m as he clocked 7:40.32 to earn double titles in Istanbul.
At the 2023 World Athletics Championships, the 23-year-old collected gold in the men’s 5000m and silver in the 1500m. He defended his 5000m title with a season-best (SB) performance of 13:11.30 but finished behind Great Britain’s Josh Kerr in the 1500m race, who clocked 3:29.38 (SB).
Ingebrigtsen concluded his 2023 season at the Diamond League 2023 Final (Prefontaine Classic) where he won the mile and the 3000m disciplines. In the mile, he narrowly missed out on the world record as he beat Yared Nuguse, clocking a time of 3:43.73. The 3000m was a closely contested final that saw the Norwegian run a third-fastest time (7:23.63) in history.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen was chosen as the European Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row
At the annual Golden Tracks Award Ceremony held in Lithuania, Jakob Ingebrigtsen was awarded the 2023 European Athlete of the Year title in the male category.
Besides his accomplishments at major international competitions, Ingebrigtsen established two world records — in the men’s two mile (7:54.10), and the 2000m (4:43.13). He also set European records in 1500m, mile, and 3000m, with times of 3:27.14, 3:43.73, and 7:23.63, respectively.
A post by European Athletics on Instagram read:
“Back-to-back trophies! 💫 Jakob Ingebrigtsen 🇳🇴 is the men’s European Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row! 🏆”
The 2023 Golden Tracks Award Ceremony also saw Femke Bol, the Dutch superstar, winning a consecutive Female Athlete of the Year title. Both Ingebrigtsen and Bol were past winners of the Rising Star Award as well.