Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway won the men’s senior title with ease for the third time in four years at the European Cross Country Championships in Turkey.
Despite not competing in the event last year, the 24-year-old Olympic 5,000-meter champion reclaimed his title with a strong performance at the Dokuma Park, Antalya.
With a performance record of 22 minutes and 16 seconds, he won eight seconds ahead of Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy, who placed second, and Thierry Ndikumwenayo of Spain, who ranked third.
The athlete shared with European Athletics: “Cross country is something that I really enjoy… It’s very different from my other competitions, there’s something special and exciting about around 100 people being at the starting line, going for the first turn…”
He added: “There’s a lot of fighting and pushing and shoving, there’s a lot of things that could happen. The course was so challenging and tactical, as well as technical…. It’s all about using the energy wisely and trying to manoeuvre.”
In a social media post, he stated: “Last year, at this specific time, I spent the weekend running in a swimming pool full of pensioners. I like this better. Proud to represent Team Norway 🇳🇴 in the European Cross Country Championship in Antalya. 🇹🇷 And congrats to the Norwegian U20 team for bringing home the team gold medal! 🏆🔥”
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Performances in other events
In ninth place, Rory Leonard was the first Briton to cross the finish line, helping the men’s team win bronze.
Moreover, in the women’s senior event, which was won by Nadia Battocletti of Italy, Kate Axford finished in 10th place and helped the British team win silver. In the first-ever mixed relay, the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team took home bronze.