Ingebrigtsen could become the greatest of all time – experts fear two things – VG

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Jakob Ingebrigtsen won gold EC a both 1500 and 5,000 meters in Munich, as he did in 2018. In 2021 he won Olympic gold in the 1,500 meters, while at the World Championships in the United States earlier this summer he won gold in the 5,000 meters and the silver in the 1,500 meters.

Cathal Dennehy, who closely follows British track and field and writes for the Independent, among others, believes Ingebrigtsen can be on top as long as motivation and body allow.

– We have seen these days that it is possible to reach the top even in the 30s, but I don’t think that will happen with Jakob due to how hard he has been training for so long already. I think his peak will come in two or three years, Dennehy tells VG.

Ingebrigtsen promised VG on Thursday that the motivation is top notch.

– It is not difficult for me to motivate myself, because this is very important and I have worked hard all my life to race. It’s fun to feel mastery, measure my strength against the best in the world and see how well I can perform, said Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

– Can you imagine that you might get bored suddenly?

– Not suddenly, but of course there comes a point in everyone’s life and everyone’s things where you feel you’ve achieved what you are capable of. For my part, I think it’s just as exciting to see how good I can get. So you have to see the day you stagnate, so you’ll probably be in it for a while. But I choose to believe there is still some, Ingebrigtsen replied.

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The next championships are the WC of Budapest 2023, the EC of Rome 2024 and the Paris Olympics 2024.

Dennehy believes Ingebrigtsen can pursue the world record in 1500 meters – 3: 26.00 set by Hicham El Guerrouj – in a year when there are not many championships. But at the same time he expects the Norwegian to be more dominant on 5000m than 1500m in the league.

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– My opinion is that he will not lose a 5000m championship for many, many years if he is healthy and does not get tired – as at the moment he is too strong aerobically to lose the others before the last 400m and he has a good milestone for the Specialist of the 5,000 meters, says Dennehy

For now, the writer believes it is too early to place Ingebrigtsen alongside the legends El Guerrouj or Sebastian Coe.

– Due to the fact that he has not set any outdoor world records or defended an Olympic gold, but with one more title in Budapest and one or two more Olympic golds in Paris, he is among the best of all time.

Athletics journalist Jonathan Gault, who writes for Let’s Run magazine, believes Ingebrigtsen is the favorite to win world gold in the 1,500 and 5,000 meters in Budapest next year. This year, Ingebrigtsen was beaten by the British Jake Wightman in the 1500 meters.

– I think it’s possible for Jakob to continue at his current level until 2028, but I’ll be surprised if he can stay at that level far beyond, says American track and field journalist Jonathan Gault, who writes for Let’s Run magazine, to VG.

Gault believes that we can consider Ingebrigtsen one of the greatest of all time if the recent double European champion continues his medal haul until 2028. However, there is a difference in the sea:

– There are many factors working against him, says Gault and continues:

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Will he still have the motivation to travel more than 200 days a year to training camps and push his body the way it needs to be the best in the world? It is also likely that at some point in the next seven years he will get injured.

Gault believes, like Cathal Dennehy, that Ingebrigtsen has not yet reached the same level as El Guerrouj and Coe, mainly due to the Norwegian’s young age.

– These guys and other sports legends have been able to put together years of success at the top of the sport. But Jakob is only 21 years old. I expect that if we have this conversation in 2028, he will compare very favorably with them. He is so talented.

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Anders Huun Monsen, the blogger behind the website Athletics 1 and journalist, he answers firmly when VG asks him if Jakob Ingebrigtsen can become the middle distance runner of all time.

– Yes. He can be.

– He still has a long way to go (like the greatest of all time), but there’s nothing to suggest he can’t become one.

Older brother and coach Henrik Ingebrigtsen said the following the little brother’s motivation towards VG:

– We talked about how it is a big burden to travel so much. It’s a question of how many years he can hold out, his older brother said after Thursday’s gold rush.

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