Athletics-Ingebrigtsen pulls out of Ultimate Championship 1,500m, delaying Kerr showdown

Athletics - 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championships - National Athletics Centre, Budapest, Hungary - September 11, 2026 Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen celebrates winning the Men's 5000m final REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo

BUDAPEST, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Norway's ⁠Jakob Ingebrigtsen has withdrawn from Sunday's 1,500 metres at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, postponing a ⁠long-awaited showdown with arch-rival Josh Kerr.

Ingebrigtsen, who won the men's 5,000m title on Friday at ‌the lucrative new event, said he was unwilling to risk racing twice in three days as he continues his comeback from Achilles surgery in February.

The 25-year-old, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, returned to competition only last month after an absence of almost a ​year due to injury.

"Unfortunately I'm not in a position to go ⁠in back-to-back races," Ingebrigtsen said in a ⁠video posted on Instagram on Saturday.

"I would love for it to be different, and to be sharper ⁠in ‌terms of recovery, but coming from a very difficult last two years with injury problems and Achilles surgery I am forced to be more sensible than I would like to be.

"Ultimately, it ⁠is about getting back into racing, getting back to 100% fitness, and ​thinking about 2027."

Ingebrigtsen, who said ‌he made the decision after a treadmill test on Saturday, added that he had already exceeded ⁠expectations simply by ​returning to elite competition after months of doubt.

He thrilled the sellout crowd on Friday by surging past the field with 100m to go to win the 5,000m.

"Just looking back a short time ago, it is unbelievable that we have ⁠been able to get this far in 2026 and be ​able to be here," he added.

The withdrawal means another delay in the rivalry between Ingebrigtsen and Britain's Kerr, with the pair having not faced each other since 2024.

After returning to competition by winning European 5,000m gold last month, ⁠Ingebrigtsen reignited their war of words by criticising athletes who skip major championships, comments seen as directed at Kerr, who opted not to defend his European title.

Kerr, who shattered the world mile record in July, responded last week by welcoming Ingebrigtsen's return to competition, but shrugged off criticism about being very selective with ​his race schedule.

"I'm a human being at the end of the day. ⁠I'm not a robot," Kerr said on a video call with reporters. "I think if you want to have a ​career that's 10 to 12 years long then you can't (race all ‌the time)."

Sunday's 1,500m final will still feature a stellar ​field led by Kerr, Olympic champion Cole Hocker, Olympic bronze medallist Yared Nuguse, reigning world champion Isaac Nader and 2022 world champion Jake Wightman.

(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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田径——2026年世界田径极限锦标赛——匈牙利布达佩斯国家田径中心——2026年9月11日 挪威选手雅各布·英格布里格森庆祝赢得男子5000米决赛 路透社/伯纳黛特·萨博

布达佩斯，9 月 12 日（路透社）——挪威选手雅各布·英格布里格森退出了周日举行的世界田径终极锦标赛 1500 米比赛，推迟了与宿敌乔什·克尔的期待已久的对决。

英格布里格森在周五举行的这项利润丰厚的新赛事中赢得了男子 5000 米冠军。他表示，由于他仍在从二月份的跟腱手术中恢复，因此不愿冒险在三天内参加两场比赛。

这位25岁的运动员曾两次获得奥运会金牌，上个月才因伤病缺席近一年后重返赛场。

“很遗憾，我目前无法参加背靠背的比赛，”英格布里格森在周六发布于 Instagram 的一段视频中说道。

“我当然希望情况有所不同，恢复得更快更好，但由于过去两年伤病问题和跟腱手术的困扰，我不得不比我希望的更加理智。”

“归根结底，就是要重返赛场，恢复到100%的健康状态，并展望2027年。”

英格布里格森表示，他在周六进行跑步机测试后做出了这个决定，他还补充说，在经历了数月的怀疑之后重返精英赛场，这本身就已经超出了预期。

周五，他在距离终点100米处超越其他选手，赢得5000米比赛，令全场爆满的观众兴奋不已。

“回想不久前，我们能够走到今天这一步，真是难以置信，我们竟然在 2026 年走到了这里，”他补充道。

英格布里格森的退出意味着她与英国选手克尔之间的竞争将再次推迟，两人自 2024 年以来就没有交过手。

上个月，英格布里格森重返赛场，赢得了欧洲5000米金牌。之后，他批评了那些缺席重大锦标赛的运动员，这番言论被认为是针对克尔的，因为克尔选择不卫冕他的欧洲冠军头衔。

克尔在七月份打破了世界一英里纪录，上周他回应了英格布里格森重返赛场的言论，但对于英格布里格森在比赛安排上过于挑剔的批评，他不以为然。

“归根结底，我是个人，不是机器人，”科尔在与记者的视频通话中说道。“我认为，如果你想拥有10到12年的职业生涯，你就不能一直参赛。”

周日的 1500 米决赛仍将汇聚众多明星选手，其中包括克尔、奥运冠军科尔·霍克、奥运会铜牌得主亚雷德·努古塞、卫冕世界冠军艾萨克·纳德和 2022 年世界冠军杰克·怀特曼。

（Lori Ewing报道；Ken Ferris编辑）

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