ISTANBUL – Jakob Ingebrigtsen has completed the 1,500m-3,000m double again at the European Athletics Indoor Championships.
On Sunday, Ingebrigtsen, the Olympic 1,500m champion, was never in danger as he cruised to the 3,000m gold in Istanbul and won in a Norwegian national record of 7min 40.32sec to add to his 1,500m title from Friday.
Adel Mechaal of Spain took silver in 7:41.75 and Elzan Bibic of Serbia claimed bronze in 7:44.03.
Ingebrigtsen, 22, repeated his double feat from two years ago, when the championships were held in Torun, Poland.
“It was a feeling like I raced myself today,” he said. “I would love to get some more competition but maybe that is just me, expecting too much. I guess the other runners tried to get a good race for themselves and not fight for second place.”
Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson reigned supreme in the women’s 800m, as the Olympic silver medallist won easily in 1:58.66 to retain the title she won two years ago.
Anita Horvat took the silver medal for Slovenia nearly two seconds further back in 2:00.54, and France’s Agnes Raharolahy (2:00.85) collected the bronze.
Hodgkinson dedicated the victory to her former coach Joe Galvin, who died last week.
“This one is definitely for him,” she said, holding up a flag bearing his name.
Her performances this winter will give her encouragement as she turns her sights to the outdoor season and tries to get the better of American Olympic champion Athing Mu, whom she came so close to beating at the outdoor world championships in Eugene in 2022.
“I will have a few days off now and then will prepare to chase some more wins. Of course, I’m excited for the summer,” she said.
There was a surprise in the women’s long jump as Britain’s Jazmin Sawyers produced a final jump of 7m, the best in the world in 2023, to grab the gold in a competition in which Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany could only finish fourth with 6.83m.
In the women’s high jump, Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh retained her title with a winning clearance of 1.98m and Kevin Mayer of France won his third European indoor heptathlon gold. AFP
