European Championships 2018: Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen, 17, beats brother to complete golden double
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2018 European Championships |
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Venues: Glasgow and Berlin. Dates: 2-12 August |
Coverage: Live across BBC TV, BBC Radio 5 live and sports extra plus the BBC Sport website with further coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. |
Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen beat his older brother to win European 5,000m gold just a day after clinching the 1500m title in Berlin.
In doing so, the 17-year-old became the first athlete to complete the double at European level.
His brother Henrik, 27, finished second, 1.69 seconds behind his younger sibling, as France's Morhad Amdouni won the bronze medal.
"It was a little crazy to get this medal today," said Jakob.
"Winning a second title in two days is also the result of having done this my whole life.
"Believe me, we started preparing for the 5,000m final, as soon as we crossed the line on the 1500m last night."
Jakob Ingebrigtsen's time of 13:17.06 was a new European under-20 record.
"I knew he would eventually become the best in Europe and the world, but that he could do it at 17, I couldn't imagine in my wildest dreams," Henrik said. "He earned it; he didn't just accidentally grab it."
He had beaten both Henrik, who won the title in 2012, and their other brother Filip - the reigning champion from 2016 - to win 1500m gold on Friday and become the youngest winner on the European Championships track in 84 years.
Filip missed the 5,000m final with a rib injury.
Speaking on BBC TV, British long distance athlete Paula Radcliffe said: "Jakob Ingebrigtsen just goes to the front when he wants and dares everyone else to come alongside him. Nobody dares to go past him and he's 17.
"To bounce back from last night and all the emotion that must have come with it as well - to be able to run with that maturity and control is unbelievable."
The brothers, from the small Norwegian city of Sandnes, have all grown into world-class middle-distance runners under the tutelage of their father Gjert.
At the age of 16, Jakob became the youngest man ever to break the four-minute mile and broke the European 1500m junior record with a 3:31.18 run in Monaco last month.
"In two years' time, we will be back to win four medals, not just three," added Henrik.
"We're definitely coming back to improve the stats in our family. There are no limits for us, and we have another brother who is turning five years old, and soon can join the Ingebrigtsen team."
The Ingebrigtsens weren't the only brothers in action at Berlin's Olympic Stadium on Saturday, as Dylan, Jonathan and Kevin Borlee won 4x400m relay gold for Belgium alongside Jonathan Sacoor.