After a disrupted 2025 season marked by injury and missed opportunities, Jakob Ingebrigtsen has set his sights firmly on 2026…and the world record books.
The 25-year-old Norwegian middle-distance star says he’s targeting the world records in the 1500m, mile, and 5000m next year.
“This year I laid a good foundation for an incredibly good comeback with a couple of world records next season,” Ingebrigtsen told Norwegian outlet VG. “I hope to take the world record over 1500m, the mile and 5000m. If I can do that, I have to be satisfied.”
A Year of Highs and Lows
Ingebrigtsen started 2025 with strong indoor performances, including a world indoor mile record of 3:45.14 in Liévin and a 1500m split of 3:29.63 in the same race, making him the first man in history to break 3:30 for 1500m indoors.
He went on to complete the 1500m/3000m double at both the European Indoor Championships and World Indoor Championships, becoming only the second male athlete to win double gold at a single World Indoors (Haile Gebrselassie was the first).
But a right Achilles tendon injury sustained in May halted his momentum.
He skipped altitude training, missed the entire Diamond League season, and arrived at the World Championships in Tokyo well short of fitness. He failed to make the final in the 1500m and finished 10th in the 5000m.
With no global outdoor championships on the calendar in 2026, Ingebrigtsen has the flexibility to prioritize world record attempts.
Chasing Three World Records
Ingebrigtsen is already one of the most decorated distance runners of his generation and holds world records or bests in several non-championship distances. But three of the most prestigious marks in the sport still stand, two held by Hicham El Guerrouj and one by Joshua Cheptegei.
Here’s how Ingebrigtsen stacks up:
- 1500m (3:26.00): Held by Moroccan legend Hicham El Guerrouj since 1998. Ingebrigtsen came tantalizingly close in 2023, clocking 3:27.14 in Oslo and then 3:26.73 in Chorzów, Poland. Only 0.73 seconds separate him from the record.
- Mile (3:43.13): Also El Guerrouj’s, from 1999. Ingebrigtsen’s best is 3:43.73, run at the 2023 Bowerman Mile in Eugene—a mere 0.6 seconds shy.
- 5000m (12:35.36): Set by Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei in 2020 during the pandemic-era Diamond League meet in Monaco. Ingebrigtsen’s best of 12:48.45 dates back to 2021 and is more than 13 seconds off, making it perhaps the most difficult of the three targets.
He currently holds world records in the 2000m (4:43.13), 3000m (7:17.55), and two miles (7:54.10), all set within the last two years. Indoors, he also owns the mile and 1500m world records.
The 5000m record appears to be the most challenging of the three, with his PB more than 13 seconds off Cheptegei’s mark. It’s also the event he’s raced least frequently at full effort since 2021, often saving it for major championships.
Picking the Right Races
With no Olympics or World Championships in 2026, the European Athletics Championships (August 10–16 in Birmingham) and World Athletics’ new “Ultimate Championships” later in the year offer major competition windows.
Ingebrigtsen is expected to return to the European Championships, where he has won the 1500m/5000m double at three consecutive editions dating back to 2018.
He’s already looking at the Diamond League calendar for potential record attempts.
“Monaco has been a very good race for many years, Paris is good. Silesia is very good,” he said. “And most likely Bislett. It’s always something I look forward to.”
Conditions, pacing, and timing will all be crucial. With his track record of peaking for the biggest moments, Ingebrigtsen is well-positioned for a record-breaking campaign—if his body holds up.
