Jakob Ingebrigtsen Makes Surprise Decision About Racing Josh Kerr at Ultimate Championship

Multiple Olympics and world champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen has reportedly opted against running in two events at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship.

The inaugural edition of the event is set to take place in Budapest, Hungary from September 11-13 with a bumper prize on offer as winners of each discipline will take home $150,000 (Ksh19.4 million).

However, despite qualifying for both the 1,500m and 5,000m, Ingebrigtsen has reportedly decided to run only one event. According to Norwegian outlet Dagbladet, Ingebrigtsen has opted against running the 1,500m and will only feature in 5,000m at the Ultimate Championships.

“It will be exciting to see what he achieves. The level is high, but it is late in the season. It is not certain that everyone is in the same top form as they were earlier this summer,” his brother and manager Henrik Ingebrigtsen told Dagbladet.

This cancels out a highly anticipated duel with Josh Kerr, the British runner who he had had several epic battles with in recent years.

Ingebrigtsen is coming from a frustrating end to the season after finishing fourth in the Diamond League final in Brussels, calling his competitors a "bunch of losers" in a candid post-race interview.

The Norwegian star clocked an impressive 3:30.52, a time his older brother Henrik believes is a mere shadow of what he's truly capable of.

"It's absolutely crazy! Even though Jakob is far from top form, he's right up there," said Henrik. "If it were professional pacemakers, he could have really challenged for the win."

Ingebrigtsen's time was notably faster than the season's best of 3:30.80 set by Olympic champion Cole Hocker, who has described his own form as excellent. However, the 25-year-old Norwegian was his own harshest critic after the race.

"Damn, what a bunch of losers I'm running against. I'm losing, I'm not good enough," Ingebrigtsen told NRK. "I'm giving it an honest try and running to win, but I'm not strong enough."

The race was only his third since securing the European Championship gold in the 5,000m. His brother Henrik emphasises that Jakob is still building back his strength.

"He's nowhere near top form," Henrik stated. "With the way the race unfolded, I think he could have seen a 3:29 in a perfect race. I'm really looking forward to next year. The Jakob we see now is a shadow of himself."

Ingebrigtsen's season has been a battle against the odds following Achilles surgery in February. The road back was uncertain, and he described himself as still being in a training period even as he won the European title.

The race in Brussels was also hampered by pacing issues. The pacemakers failed to maintain the agreed-upon speed, forcing Ingebrigtsen to expend extra energy to close the gap before effectively becoming the pacemaker for his rivals.

"It's rare to encounter something like that at this level," Henrik explained. "Jakob loses a second and a half there, and he has to make a surge to get back up, and suddenly he's the hare for the others. It was a bit stupid that it turned out that way."