With the Copenhagen Half Marathon just days away, taking place on Sunday, September 15, rumors are swirling about whether we will see Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Olympic 5,000m champion, step into the half marathon distance for the first time.
The field is already packed with top contenders, including Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who holds the half marathon world record, and Kenya’s world champion Sebastian Sawe.
But the prospect of Ingebrigtsen joining the race has been grabbing the most attention.
Speculation around Ingebrigtsen’s ability to dominate longer races has been brewing since he was a teenager, thanks to his widely-publicized VO2 max and threshold test results. Back in 2018, at the age of 17, his father and then-coach Gjert believed he could run under 60 minutes for a half marathon. This claim was supported by Leif Inge Tjelta, the researcher who conducted the tests, calling the results extraordinary and unlike anything seen before in Norway.
Despite his accomplishments in shorter distances, Ingebrigtsen has often hinted that his real strength lies in endurance events. In an earlier interview with The Times, he said, “I am a half-marathon man. That’s where I am best. I get a bit worse the further I do down in distance. At 10k I’m a bit worse, and at 5k I’m a bit worse again, and then the same for the 1,500m. I’m an endurance athlete. The 1,500m is my worst event.”
However, when questioned about the Copenhagen race during a press conference for the Brussels Diamond League final, where he will compete in the 1500m, Ingebrigtsen remained non-committal.
“I’m focused on tomorrow’s race and what I’m going to do in my season break, that I don’t know. But I’m focused and well-prepared, I believe, for the race tomorrow. I’ve been doing mostly specific work for the 1500 since the beginning of May…I’m going to compete tomorrow first, and then what I do after that, I don’t know,” he said.
“I come from a philosophy that is based around strength and running a lot of mileage and doing a lot of work around threshold. But at the same time, that’s really not something that’s on my mind right now. I’m hopefully winning tomorrow and performing and doing a good race there and what happens after that, I don’t know.”
Interestingly, a mysterious entry has appeared in the Copenhagen Half Marathon tracking app.
Bib #2, assigned to a 20-24-year-old runner with no listed name but a Danish flag, has many wondering if this could be Ingebrigtsen. Whether or not the speculation is true, the truth will be revealed soon enough.
