How a vulnerable Jakob Ingebrigtsen is elevating his legacy, even without Josh Kerr

Jakob Ingebrigtsen admits he is “a long way” from the level that he expects. The maverick Norwegian made a dramatic return to racing at the European Championships in Birmingham, storming to 5,000m gold to banish skepticism surrounding his condition and his nerve to compete on the big stage following a 323-day absence after a debilitating Achilles injury.

Athletics is a star-driven sport and the 1,500m, among its most compelling events, alongside the women’s 800m, depends on head-to-head duels when records, such as Josh Kerr‘s captivating tilt at the one mile mark in London, are not at stake.

The two great rivals, who were famously caught snoozing in Paris two years ago as Cole Hocker slipped up the inside of the rail to snatch gold, continue to bristle at each other’s journeys away from the track.

Ingebrigtsen’s command and control across 5,000m is mesmerising, but even if Kerr was merely provocative in his claim that “no one cares” about that event, the pure chaos of the 1,500m reigns and its former Nordic king knows all too well.

“I think a lot of people should be [disappointed in Kerr’s absence from some championships],” Ingebrigtsen had remarked. “Because that is what championships are all about. It’s not for us as athletes to choose almost where to participate. We have these championships for a reason, and that is for the best athletes to compete – that is the whole point.

“So I definitely think it is ruining the sport if we are not participating. We all have different plans, but I could never see myself in that position.”

That Ingebrigtsen has embraced his vulnerability off the back of injury only bolsters his legacy in the sport, beyond Olympic gold and the transformative nature of his style. The stark contrast to Kerr, who will not be at a peculiar Diamond League Final in Brussels, is jarring, instead focusing on the World Athletics Ultimate Championships a week later.

Both men remain the event’s biggest assets, despite Hocker’s triumph in *the* race that matters most, or Isaac Nader’s shock World Championship win in Tokyo last year. Indeed, Dutch athlete Stefan Nillessen, fresh from an emphatic European gold, was a humbling 12th in the penultimate Diamond League of the season in Zurich, underlining the volatile nature of the event.

Which brings it back to Ingebrigtsen and his two races since that European gold; 3:31.19 (fourth) in Silesia and 3:32.16 (fifth) in Zurich.

The tension will be there in Brussels, with Ingebrigtsen bound to be in that front cluster at the bell. Yet his final 200m in Silesia, 27.1 (seven tenths of a second off winner Ethan Strand), and Zurich, 26.6 (four tenths of a second off winner Hocker) show where the missing piece lies.

“It feels like I’m lacking a lot of training,” Ingebrigtsen remarked, having shunned the prospect of a slower return to the top end of the sport when others wait until their peak condition emerges.

So the 25-year-old is here, ready to risk being another scalp to his rivals, and about to kick off the first of four more races in just 15 days. Beyond Brussels, the 1,500m and 5,000m in Budapest at the World Athletics Ultimate Championships, then less than a week later a 5k in the World Road Running Championships.

His activity is to be admired and as spectacular as Kerr has been in 2026, revising the record books in a sizzling 3:42.66 mile and soaking up the adulation of his home Glasgow support at the Commonwealth Games, perhaps he will concede that on the road to LA28, greater activity could further solidify his own legacy, no matter the eventual race results.

If Kerr has risen above legends Sebastian Coe, Steve Cram and Steve Ovett from that golden age for the sport in the record books, their rivalry and story, at least on the track, still stands above Kerr and Ingebrigtsen. After a pair of exceptional invitations, Budapest will be just their second meeting since that Paris Olympic final in 2024, with injuries and personal preference, including the doomed Grand Slam Track, separating the pair.

And that partly highlights how close the Diamond League Final is to emerging as a captivating product. The journey to get here has been undermined somewhat, with as little as 12 points enough to qualify in some events, meaning just two outings could be enough for some to book their ticket (a win in a meet is worth eight points alone). And even then, a global wildcard is there for those unable or unwilling to participate throughout the season.

The allure of a $150,000 first prize in Budapest may have convinced some athletes to preserve their aching bodies at this late stage of the season too. Superstars Melissa Jefferson-wooden; Noah Lyles, Keely Hodgkinson and Karsten Warholm will skip Brussels. While Parker Wolfe, winner of the 3,000m in Zurich, will also step aside in hope of victory in Budapest.

This is not to fault the athletes, who operate in a way to maximise their earnings and chances of stepping on top of that podium. Yet Ingebrigtsen, perhaps more easily with his collection of medals, has been willing to risk defeat and, in exchange, fans have grown to respect him more.

So that is just why Ingebrigtsen’s presence in Zurich adds to his mystique. Hocker looks to now be in menacing form, while fellow Americans Strand and Yared Nuguse are contenders, alongside the Australian phenom Cam Myers, 20, who holds two of just six sub-3:30 times this year.

Win or lose, then, Ingebrigtsen’s fellow athletes could boost the sport by embracing his appetite to race.