---
title: "Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins men's 5000m final in Birmingham; Fourth straight European title, comeback after 11 months"
sdDatePublished: "2026-08-11T13:14:00Z"
source: "https://www.olympics.com/en/news/jakob-ingebrigtsen-golden-return-at-european-athletics-championships-2026"
topics:
  - name: "athletics"
    identifier: "medtop:20000827"
  - name: "sport"
    identifier: "medtop:15000000"
locations:
  - "Birmingham"
---


Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins men's 5000m final in Birmingham; Fourth straight European title, comeback after 11 months

Jakob Ingebrigtsen's golden return at the European Athletics Championships 2026: "From here, I’m going to be astonishing"

Jakob Ingebrigtsen's golden return at the European Athletics Championships 2026: "From here, I’m going to be astonishing"

After a sensational return to racing after 11 months out, Ingebrigtsen said he had to put aside any thought of tiredness and can now 'train properly'.

For Jakob Ingebrigtsen , it turns out Birmingham is quite nice at this time of year , after all.

The curtain raiser for both day one of the 2026 European Athletics Championships and the Norwegian star’s 2026 season, in his first race since returning from surgery, was appropriately emphatic.

Without any qualifying stages, the men’s 5000m final on Monday (10 August) was Ingebrigtsen’s first appearance in 11 months. It didn’t stop him from taking his fourth consecutive European title in a race he has not lost in since 2019.

If his fitness and form was a great unknown before the race, there was no doubt by the end.

"Is the King back?" one journalist asked the two-time Olympic gold medallist.

“What do you think?” came the reply.

"I can’t be too far off full fitness, considering the talent I was racing today. Maybe 88%, 92%? But these are very tiny margins, and now I can train properly.

"From here, I’m going to be a lot better. Like, astonishingly a lot better, " he added.

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - AUGUST 10: Gold medalist Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Team Norway poses for a photo after winning the Men's 5000 Metres Final during day one of the 27th European Athletics Championships at Alexander Stadium on August 10, 2026 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Maja Hitij

Getty Images for European Athletics)

During the race, there was a steady single file with four seconds separating the field at the halfway stage. With six laps to go, he remained at the back. Jimmy Gressier – who finished fourth – took the leap into an increasingly cramped front. Ingebrigtsen just wiped his brow.

Within a lap later, it was the Norwegian and Gressier in the top three of the pack; normal service resumed.

At the final bend, Ingebrigtsen seemed boxed in at third behind Gressier and German Florian Bremm.

But with 100m to go, the awaited explosive lurch arrived as the 25-year-old found the gap and took gold in 13:15.29.

"In that last 600m, that’s when I started to feel confident," Ingebrigtsen explained.

"It doesn’t matter how much speed you have if you’re tired. So I’ve been trying for the last three weeks to not be tired."

Getty Images for European Athletics

Athletics | European Championships | Birmingham | United Kingdom