Ingebrigtsen Returns to Competition With Fifth European 5,000m Gold Medal

Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway captured the 5,000-meter gold medal at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham on Monday, marking his fourth consecutive victory in the event and his first competitive outing following surgical intervention in early 2024. The two-time Olympic champion had undergone a procedure to remove scar tissue from the protective membrane surrounding his left Achilles tendon before returning to racing.

Ingebrigtsen executed a decisive final kick in the closing stages, moving from third place with fewer than 100 meters remaining to overtake Germany’s Florian Bremm over the final 50 meters. He finished in 13 minutes, 15.29 seconds, with Bremm taking silver and France’s Etienne Daguinos claiming the bronze medal.

The Norwegian star opted not to enter the 1,500-meter competition at the Birmingham championships, an event in which he captured gold at the previous three European championships alongside his three consecutive 5,000-meter titles. Ingebrigtsen’s injury concerns had appeared significant at last September’s world championships in Tokyo, where he failed to qualify past the opening round of the 1,500 meters and finished 10th in the 5,000-meter final.

In the women’s shot put, Netherlands competitor Jessica Schilder extended her dominance with a third consecutive European title, recording a winning throw of 20.73 meters at Alexander Stadium. Schilder’s teammate Jorinde van Klinken finished second with 19.64 meters, while 2024 Olympic champion Yemisi Mabry of Germany placed third at 19.50 meters.

Schilder, the reigning world champion in the event, remains the sole female athlete this decade to surpass the 21-meter mark, having achieved 21.09 meters at the Shanghai Diamond League in May. She has now won gold at the past two European championships, triumphing in both Rome in 2024 and Munich in 2022.