Jakob Ingebrigtsen admits Olympic 1500m defeat will ‘haunt me for the rest of my life’

The Norwegian bounced back from missing out on a 1500m medal by claiming gold in the 5000m and then detailed how his toughest losses fuel his motivation

Gold medalist Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway poses on the podium (EPA)

Jakob Ingebrigtsen has revealed how his toughest losses “haunt” him forever after suffering a stunning upset in the 1500m at the Olympics.

The Norwegian was the favourite for one of the most anticipated races of Paris 2024, but missed out on a medal altogether, finishing behind gold medallist Cole Hocker, with rival Josh Kerr taking silver ahead of Yared Nuguse in bronze.

The Norwegian rebounded in the 5000m, thriving in a slow race to outkick his rivals to defend his title in 13 mins and 13.66 secs ahead of Ronald Kwemoi and Grant Fisher, before explaining how he responded to his 1500m setback.

“I think one of the biggest confusions is that it’s something you put behind you,” Ingebrigtsen explained when asked how he put the 1500m defeat behind him. “I still remember many of my losses in my junior career or even when I was very young and also in my World Championships in Doha.

“These are things that will haunt me for the rest of my life. It’s why it’s important to perform as we have that memory of losing and not accomplishing what we want. I think it’s something that motivates us to put in work and do what’s needed to perform.

“It’s different to handle it, but it’s always something that will be there. It’s a big part of sports, I think many of the greatest athletes will have defeats that will haunt them for the rest of their lives, but hopefully, the reward of accomplishing things and creating memories outweighs them.”

While Ingebrigtsen also discussed his mindset surrounding pressure to change his tactics after three successive defeats in major finals to Jake Wightman, Kerr and now Hocker.

Ingebrigtsen in action in the 1500m (Associated Press)

He added: “I think good tactics and bad tactics can have different outcomes: If you do something well, it’s considered a good tactic, if you don’t do something bad, it’s considered the opposite. It comes down to execution. It’s about grabbing the opportunity when it’s given to you. But still the opportunity can be lost and you can perform and ruin your chances.

“You can do that at the back of the field. I’m a believer in winning in a way that’s honourable. Reaching the finish line first is obviously the main goal. But still I’m a big fan in proving myself, not to anybody in particular, but to myself the work I’m putting in, it’s doing something in a certain way, I’m not saying I’ll do it all the time. It’s about performing as good as you can in the circumstances and how they are. I’m just going to continue getting better and winning as much as I can.”

Ingebrigtsen celebrates his win in the 5000m (AFP via Getty Images)

Ingebrigtsen then elaborated on his desire to win in a certain way and suggested his rivals lacked “confidence” to push the pace in the 5000m to test his strength more than his speed.

“It’s dangerous to go into a championship race expecting anything,” he concluded “It comes down to the athletes and the way they see their chances of getting the best out of themselves.

“For some people that might be different to what they think themselves to other people. I think we were all expecting a somewhat faster race. But it still comes down to everybody’s expectations about how they can perform.

“Some people don’t have the confidence to do anything, they’re just racing the race as it unfolds. But some people they make decisions that will affect everybody, it’s all very different on how we see it. I think we’re all happy with the outcome and excited for the race tonight.”