Five champions were crowned in the first day of competition at the European Athletics Championships on Monday in Birmingham and for Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, getting back to where he’s always been — the gold — became reality as he powered his way to his fourth men’s 5,000m title in a triumphant return from Achilles surgery earlier in the year.
Ingebrigtsen surged to a 13:15.29 win after getting his first true test of the year on the track and staying patient for the bulk of the race, holding third position well into the bell lap. But with 100m meters remaining and still fighting through a lead group that included Florian Bremm, Etienne Daguinos and Jimmy Gressier, Ingebrigtsen kicked in the closing moments for the victory.
“Coming from the lowest of lows to be European champion again means the world to me,” Ingebrigtsen said. “Not even I believed it could happen coming here. Only with 600 meters to go, I knew I would win.”
“I am starting to feel more like myself,” said Ingebrigtsen who underwent surgery in January. “I was hoping my fitness would be okay. Before this race I worked on my breathing and really tried to focus on running smooth. Although you never know in a race like this as all my competitors were very strong.”
Bremm took silver for Germany in 13:15.60 while France’s Daguinos got the bronze in 13:16.09.
Meanwhile, Great Britain’s Amy Hunt roared to an 11.00 win in the women’s 100m as she quickly made up a slow start and closed with a strong push to the line as she edged past Poland’s Ewa Swoboda who took second in 11.02. Belgium’s Delphine Nkansa took third in 11.06 in a race that looked to be up for grabs out of the block but Hunt leaned into her finishing speed to take the gold.
“I really want to win it all and I’m so happy now I’ve got one out of four done,” Hunt said. “Hopefully I can take this momentum and the good vibes into the rest of the week. I’m so excited to see what it brings me. I felt so euphoric crossing the line as the first half of the race was a little bit messy.”
In the men’s shot put, Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri launched a 22.31m throw on the third attempt to secure the gold over teammate Zane Weir (21.12m) and Sweden’s Wictor Peterson 20.97m.
Jessica Schilder got the first gold for The Netherlands with her win in the women’s shot put with a 20.73m toss to get past teammate Jorinde van Klinken (19.64m) and Germany’s Yemisi Mabry (19.50m) while Team Norway bolted to 3:09.62 in the mixed 4x400m relay over Great Britain (3:10.47) The Netherlands (3:10.77) to wrap up the opening day of finals.
Day 1 Results
Women’s Shot Put
1. Jessica Schilder (Netherlands) – 20.73m
2. Jorinde van Klinken (Netherlands) – 19.64m
3. Yemisi Mabry (Germany) – 19.50m
Men’s Shot Put
1. Leonardo Fabbri (Italy) – 22.31m
2. Zane Weir (Italy) – 21.12m
3. Wictor Peterson (Sweden) – 20.97m
Men’s 5,000m
1. Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) – 13:15.29
2. Florian Bremm (Germany) – 13:15.60
3. Etienne Daguinos (France) – 13:16.09
Mixed 4x400m Relay
1. Norway – 3:09.62
2. Great Britain – 3:10.47
3. Netherlands – 3:10.77
Women’s 100m
1. Amy Hunt (Great Britain) – 11.00
2. Ewa Swoboda (Poland) – 11.02
3. Delphine Nkansa (Belgium) – 11.06
