Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins surprise 5000m gold at Track & Field Worlds
The Norwegian Olympic champion, who finished second in his favoured 1500m event, kicks for gold in the 5000m. Kenya's Jacob Krop wins silver and Oscar Chelimo bronze, with world record holder Joshua Cheptegei ninth
Athletics
Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen has won gold in the men's 5000m at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.
Having entered the championships as the favourite for the 1500m, the 21-year-old reigning Olympic champion had to settle for silver in the event as Great Britain's Jake Wightman sprung a surprise to take the world title.
However, as surprises go, this was just as unexpected.
Lining up against the 5000m and 10,000m world record holder Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda and 10,000m Olympic champion Selemon Barega of Ethiopia, few felt Ingebrigtsen would have much of a chance at the 5000m distance.
But buoyed by the Hayward Field crowd the Norwegian made his way to the front of the leading pack, kicking for home from a dominant position to win gold.
"It feels amazing to win this gold," the new world champion said after the race. "This is already my fifth attempt to become a world champion outdoors and my third World Championships. So finally, I became the world champion. Just an amazing feeling."
He went on to speak about bouncing back from his disappointment in the 1500m where he could only manage to finish on the second step of the podium.
"I have been very very disappointed even though I got the silver medal," he said. "But within myself, I know that I could have done better so that was the reason why I was disappointed with myself. But today, I felt very good. I have been thinking a lot towards this race to prepare myself in the best way possible and finally, I am a world champion."
Krop, who ended the race with silver, was thrilled with his performance in Oregon.
"In 2019, it was my first world championships in Doha and today, I am coming from the race with a medal," he reflected. "So I am glad. The race was tough but I was ready for anything. We had all those strong guys in the field. But I needed just to fight. Silver medal for Kenya is great."
Third-placed Chelimo looked forward to a bright future after sending a message with his World Championships bronze medal.
"This is a good motivation for my career and it is just a start. This is progress and if I keep going like this, I will become a champion," he said.