AMERICANS HAD A dominant presence in the men’s 5000 and ended up taking 5 of the first 7 spots. But it was Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen who got to the finish line first, as has been his custom in championship-style races at this distance. The ’24 Olympic gold medalist and 2-time world champion showed that his return to form following February Achilles surgery was progressing with a decisive late move that the heavily red-white-and-blue-hued field could not match.
Burundi’s Egide Ntakarutimana took the lead on the first lap, stringing out the field, though the pace wasn’t exceptionally quick. He hit the 1000 in 2:39.77 with Australian Ky Robinson, American Parker Wolfe and Kenyan Cornelius Kemboi right on his heels. Kemboi took over at 1200 and led through 2000 (5:15.93). Ethiopian Biniam Mehary ran a step back.
Robinson, 4th at the World Championships last year, was in the lead at 3000 (7:58.94) and stayed at or near the front for the next 4 laps. Americans Graham Blanks and Nico Young had been lingering towards the back of the pack, but started to move up on the penultimate circuit.
Wolfe, winner of a pair of Diamond League races at 2M and 3000 this summer, had the lead at the bell, with Ingebrigtsen in striking distance.
Coming off the final turn the Norwegian gracefully wove through the cluster of Americans (and Mehary) and moved into the lead. Nobody was able to match his kick — he covered the final 100 in 12.60 — and he crossed the line in 12:59.24.
Cole Hocker, who worked his way through the field at last year’s World Championships to take gold, found himself 5th at the top of the stretch. A 13.22 final split put him 2nd in 13:00.05, just ahead of Wolfe (13:00.13), Mehary (13:00.24), Young (13:00.26), Grant Fisher (13:00.34) and Blanks (13:00.40).
“I have not really had a big season and not many weeks ago I was telling my team that the 2026 season is far gone but then it started to get a little bit better,” said Ingebrigtsen, who only returned to racing on August 10, when he won his fourth straight European title in the 5000. “There was a lot of hope and eventually I got my momentum going.”
He didn’t win any of the three Diamond League 1500s he ran after Europeans, but his speed and tactics were clearly being sharpened. “I have gained a lot from the races I’ve done in the last couple of weeks,” Ingebrigtsen said. “I raced more or less every weekend and I was running smoother and smoother every race. I am extremely happy to run sub-13 minutes.”
Hocker admitted that he wasn’t sure what to expect in his first 5000 since his come-from-behind victory at Worlds nearly a year ago.
“I’m not content, obviously, but just looking at the field, the Americans alone, I’d be happy beating any of those guys any given day of the week,” the ’24 Olympic 1500 champ said. “I know that’s a battle in and of itself. Not that it was the goal tonight, but just how strong the USA is right now, it was incredible.”
Annotated results coming soon.
September 11
5000: 1. Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Nor) 12:59.24 (67.15, 61.84 [2:08.99], 63.37 [3:12.36], 61.81 [4:14.17], 62.99 [5:17.16], 64.92 [6:22.08], 64.76 [7:26.84], 64.69 [8:31.53], 61.12 [9:32.65], 61.07 [10:33.72], 61.22 [11:34.94], 58.23 [12:33.17], 26.07) (12.60, 26.07, 54.39, 1:54.50, 3:57.39); 2. Cole Hocker (US) 13:00.05; 3. Parker Wolfe (US) 13:00.13;
4. Biniam Mehary (Eth) 13:00.24; 5. Nico Young (US) 13:00.26; 6. Grant Fisher (US) 13:00.34; 7. Graham Blanks (US) 13:00.40; 8. Egide Ntakarutimana (Bur) 13:01.91; 9. Ky Robinson (Aus) 13:04.09; 10. Jacob Krop (Ken) 13:06.62; 11. Cornelious Kemboi (Ken) 13:07.68;… dnf. Addisu Yihune (Eth).
