Jakob Ingebrigtsen Responds to Josh Kerr's Mile World Record Ambition at London Diamond League

At just 25, Jakob Ingebrigtsen has already amassed six global titles and five world records, cementing his reputation as one of the most fiercely competitive athletes on the track.

Yet, he remains unfazed by rival Josh Kerr's recent declaration of war on the mile world record, a mark Kerr plans to attack at the London Diamond League this summer.

"I think every professional runner has a goal of breaking a world record," Ingebrigtsen stated in a video call to Runner’s World. "The difference is if you say it."

He added, "It’s definitely a good thing. I remember he’s been critical of going after times in the past. So maybe he found out that it is something fun to do."

Ingebrigtsen's own plans for a dominant 2024 were derailed by a persistent Achilles injury. After announcing his intent to chase world records in the 1500m, mile, and 5000m, he was forced to undergo surgery on his Achilles tendon sheath in February.

Now, three months post-op, the two-time Olympic gold medalist is back in training but has adopted a more measured approach to his goals for the year.

"I’m trying to train as much as I can, and that’s the main focus right now," he explained. "I am a competitor, and of course, I’m going to compete once I’m ready for it. However, it’s not my main goal right now."

This cautious outlook stems from his experience last season. Despite returning to competition for the World Championships, he was clearly not at his peak, failing to make the 1500m final and finishing a distant 10th in the 5000m.

"Right now, my main goal is training and just making sure that everything is running smoothly and just being a little bit careful," he said.

"I’m not committing to racing. I’m very much aware of what happened last year... everything went to sh*t. That’s not a fun position to be in."

While his training philosophy remains largely unchanged, "the problem that I had in my Achilles is removed, so it’s physically impossible to get it back", he is paying closer attention to metrics like heart rate and lactate threshold to monitor his comeback.

Having worked with wearables sponsor Coros for three years, Ingebrigtsen now relies on data he once found "so annoying" to collect.

He is the face of the company's new Jakob edition Pace 3 watch and heart rate monitor, tools he finds especially valuable during recovery.

During his time off from running, he used the elliptical to maintain his aerobic base, logging intense sessions like 14 sets of 3-minute hard efforts.

"The effect of it is so crucial in terms of training the aerobic system," he noted. "It’s so crazy to see how fast you’re able to recover and keep a high level when you’re actually back running."

Ingebrigtsen also incorporated stationary cycling, with sessions lasting up to two hours. However, he found it had drawbacks.

"It’s also destroying my quads and my legs when I’m back running the next couple days," he said, explaining that he had to monitor it closely as the different demands hindered his running recovery.

Despite the recent trend of elite runners like Keely Hodgkinson and Cole Hocker using cycling for cross-training, Ingebrigtsen has no plans to make it a permanent part of his regimen.