Norway's Henrik Ingebrigtsen (L) and Norway's Filip Ingebrigtsen celebrate after the Men's 5000m heats at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships at the Khalifa International stadium in Doha on September 27, 2019. / AFP / Giuseppe CACACE
Three brothers competing in one event in Doha!
Yes, you read that right. Henrik Ingebrigtsen, Filip Ingebrigtsen, Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be competing in one event in Qatar tomorrow.
The Ingebrigtsen family’s dream of having three brothers competing in the 5,000 metres IAAF World Championships final faced a few hiccups on Friday night when Jakob, the youngest of the trio, was disqualified in his first heat.
Normalcy was however restored yesterday after Jakob was reinstated by IAAF following Norwegian federation’s protest which appealed against Jakob’s disqualification. The trio will now compete in the final tomorrow and are among the 15 athletes vying for glory in the event.
The Norwegian Team presented an appeal to the Jury, claiming that their athlete had been pushed 200m before the Finish Line and forced to step out.
After reviving the video and the Jury decided that all three steps taken inside the kerb by the athlete were the result of a contact with another athlete. No material advantage was gained and decided to accept the appeal.
The 19-year-old Norwegian, European champion last year in the 1,500m and 5,000m, finished fourth, enough to secure a place in the final, but was subsequently disqualified for ‘stepping inside the rail’.
Jakob is also entered in the 1500m later in the week, where he is a serious medal contender. He won gold at last year’s European Championships in both the 1500m and 5000m.
And the youngest of the three Ingebrigtsen brothers who have adorned the track in recent years – Filip and Henrik preceded him as European 1500m champions – is unequivocal about his new ambitions. They’re global.
“I definitely hope that Team Ingebrigtsen can break the African dominance,” he told the Norwegian daily Dagbladet in Berlin.
“Filip has taken a step into that company with his World Championships medal last year, so we are on our way.”
Henrik, the oldest of the trio, will not be competing in the 1500m, but the two younger Ingebrigtsen brothers Filip and Jakob will be doubling in the 1500m. The precocious Jakob, the youngest of the Norwegian trio, perhaps carries the family’s strongest medal hopes.
The typical championship middle-distance race perfectly suits his racing style, as he showed it by claiming major European championship medals.
