Norway’s Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen etched his name in European history in Rome on Wednesday, his victory in the 1500m making him the most successful male athlete on the continent.
Ingebrigtsen, still only 23, has now won the 1500/5,000m double three times: at these Rome championships as well as editions in Berlin in 2018 and Munich in 2022.
Britons Mo Farah and Roger Black and then-West Germany’s Harald Schmid all also won six European medals, but their tallies included five golds and a silver.
“I am definitely satisfied with this championship. I might have had too many races going into this but now I have got also another good answer,” said Ingebrigtsen.
The Norwegian was happy to sit at the back of the pack early on as Spain’s Ignacio Fontes made the pace at the Stadio Olimipico.
But a sudden surge saw him propelled to the front after 600 metres.
The field stretched out as Ingebrigtsen pushed and at the bell it was Italian Federico Riva and Briton Neil Gourley on his tail.
France’s Azeddine Habz hit second down the home straight, but no one came close to Ingebrigtsen, winner in a championship record of 3min 31.95sec.
Belgium’s Jochem Vermeulen put in a strong finish to snatch silver in 3:33.30, with Italy’s Pietro Arese rounding out the podium in 3:33.34.
“I felt pretty good in today’s warm-up, but you never really know what to expect,” Ingebrigtsen said.
“So when I went out in the last 200m, I felt very good. It was a good race and I felt very good about my run. Afraid is a dangerous word. But you are really here to perform and to perform the best you can.
“I never underestimate anyone. I just do my best in every race and sometimes it goes out very well.”
Ingebrigtsen’s latest medal adds to an incredible haul that also includes two world 5,000m titles.
He has, however, been pipped to world 1500m golds in 2022 and 2023 by the British duo of Jake Wightman and Josh Kerr.
Ingebrigtsen has made a longer-than-expected return from an Achilles injury, but improved on his second place in the mile behind Kerr at the Eugene Diamond League meet with his dive over the line in front of a baying home crowd in Oslo earlier this month.
