It has been a rollercoaster year for Jakob Ingebrigtsen and the Norwegian middle distance supremo will be determined to end it on a high at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Türkiye on 8 December.
An Achilles injury caused him to miss last year’s championships in Brussels and rehabilitation killed off any hopes of competing at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March.
It was the first time since breaking through as a senior athlete at the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships with 1500m and 5000m gold that he had foregone the indoor season, notwithstanding the pandemic.
Ingebrigtsen returned in time to defend his 1500m and 5000m titles at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships where he became the most successful male athlete in championship history with a burgeoning total of six gold medals at the age of 23.
His fortunes at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games were slightly more mixed with Ingebrigtsen fading to an unforeseeable and disconsolate fourth in the 1500m final but he bounced back like an athlete of unique talents can, winning the 5000m four days later, his second Olympic gold medal to go with his 1500m victory from Tokyo 2020.
In the post-Olympic period the pattern of ups-and-downs continued, most notably with a brilliant 3000m world record of 7:17.55 at the Silesia Diamond League, defeat to Yared Nuguse in the 1500m in Zurich, back to winning ways in Brussels before an ill-fated attempt at the half marathon less than two days later in Copenhagen where he ground to a halt just after the 10km mark before finishing 34th.
Third title bid
Always watchable, Ingebrigtsen now has another opportunity for another highlight in an eventful year. In Antalya, he will be going for his third men’s senior title having triumphed in Dublin 2021 and Turin 2022. He has an enviable record at the event having also won the men’s U20 race four years in a row between 2016-2019.
Additionally, his elder brothers have also enjoyed significant success, with Filip winning the men’s senior race in Tilburg 2018 and Henrik winning the men’s U23 race in Szentendre 2012. Inevitably, the highly decorated youngest brother will start as favourite in Antalya.
But it is by no means expected to be a procession.
Brussels medallists return in force
All of last year’s medallists in Brussels will be on start-line again. Defending champion Yann Schrub from France is sure to be one of the best supported athletes at the championships. He also won 10,000m silver at the 2024 European Athletics Championships so will be keen to grab another European medal this year.
Schrub is joined on the French team by European 3000m steeplechase champion Alexis Miellet who anchored France to team gold in the mixed relay at the 2023 SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
However, one notable absentee from the French team is Jimmy Gressier who declined selection despite winning the trial race in Allonnes last month. Gressier is choosing to focus on the roads this winter and has pencilled in the 10km at the inaugural European Running Championships in Brussels-Leuven next April into his itinerary
2023 silver medallist Magnus Tuv Myhre also returns, and alongside Jakob and Filip Ingebrigtsen, forms a potent spearhead for Norway’s attempt on the team title. Filip will be looking to rekindle some form having failed to finish in his last two SPAR European Cross Country Championship appearances in 2021 and 2022.
The team title went to an inspired collective performance from home nation Belgium last time round and individual bronze medallist Robin Hendrix heads up their title defence, alongside John Heymans and
Isaac Kimeli, who also contributed to team gold in 2023.
Strong Italian and Spanish challengers
One athlete who could potentially upset the Ingebrigtsen dominance in Antalya is Spain's Thierry Ndikumwenayo, the 10,000m bronze medallist at the 2024 European Athletics Championships and a recent winner of the prestigious Cross Internacional de Italica in Seville, a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting.
Ndikumwenayo also has the distinction of being the top European finisher at the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade in late March when he finished ninth. He occupied the same position in the 10,000m final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, clocking 26:49.49 to move to second on the European all-time list behind Mo Farah, who won this title in 2006.
Ndikumwenayo is at the forefront of a strong Spanish team which also includes the experienced Adel Mechaal, the bronze medallist in 2015 and the silver medallist in 2017, and Abdessamad Oukhelfen, the highest Spanish finisher in the senior men's race in seventh last year.
The Italian challenge will be led by reigning European half marathon champion Yemaneberhan Crippa, a two-time European U20 cross country in 2014-15. Crippa is making his 12th successive appearance at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships although his last individual medal dates back to 2019 when he won silver on an undulating course in Lisbon.
By contrast, Sweden's Andreas Almgren will be making his debut at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships. The former 800m prospect, who won a bronze medal over two laps at the 2014 World Athletics U20 Championships, has excelled at the longer distances in recent years, clocking 26:52.87 for 10,000m and 59:23 for the half marathon this year.
Almgren might have scant cross country experience but the 29-year-old has the talent and endurance to be a factor individually on a different surface in Antalya on Sunday.
Chris Broadbent for European Athletics
The championships will be streamed in their entirety through the European Athletics website from 11:00 local time (09:00 CET/08:00 GMT) and will be accompanied by expert English-language commentary from two-time World Cross Country Championships silver medallist Tim Hutchings and 2011 World Athletics Championships 1500m silver medallist Hannah England.
There will also be extensive race day coverage of the championships on the European Athletics website and social media channels.
For those visiting Antalya, there are no ticket sales for this event. It is free to enter the venue and watch the competitions and medal ceremonies.