by Alfonz Juck
TILBURG FLASH-BACK
TILBURG (NED): Filip Ingebrigtsen said he didn’t have any expectations before the senior men’s race at the European Cross Country Championships. “I competed a couple of times as an U23 and U20 and I never finished top twenty. To come here and win the senior race with this level of athletes, is something I didn’t dream of before,” he said. Coach and father Gjert confirmed that all three Ingebrigtsens are planning to compete at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow next March, although the distance is still undecided.
TILBURG (NED): Jakob Ingebrigtsen wanted to run in both the U20 and senior races at the European Cross Country Championships, informs NRK. “The rules are the rules. That’s just how it is. This is to ensure good participation in the junior classes, so it does nothing. He is a junior,” said his coach and father Gjert. Jakob said: “It’s more prestigious to do well in the senior class. I think I would have given Filip a pretty good fight in this race, so it’s a bit stupid.”
TILBURG (NED): Gjert Ingebrigtsen asked Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s school to make sure he was isolated from the other pupils in order to avoid illness ahead of the European Cross Country Championships, informs NRK.
TILBURG (NED): After running the first leg of Spain’s gold medal-winning team at the European Cross Country Championships, Saul Ordonez will shift his focus to the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow, informs MARCA. “It is true that it has been a great year and closing it with the gold medal is an extra motivation for the indoor track season in which I have the highest hopes,” he said. The 800m in Glasgow will be wide open as reigning champion Adam Kszczot isn’t planning to compete indoors in 2019.
TILBURG (NED): Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal admitted she miscounted the laps in the senior women’s race in which she won a fourth successive bronze medal. “I felt I was getting stronger throughout the race. So when the bell rang I was disappointed, I thought we would have two more laps to go,” she said.
TILBURG (NED): European U23 5000m silver medallist Simon Debognies fractured his foot in Tilburg after tripping on one of the obstacles and will miss the start of the 2019 season. “I tripped over one of the obstacles in the second lap and injured my left foot badly. This later turned out to have caused a fracture in my navicular bone. The pain didn’t allow me to perform as I should have and the race course, with a lot of turns and hills, made it even worse…my foot will be in plaster for 6 weeks before I can start my recovery. Hope to be back soon!⣔ he said on his Instagram page.
TILBURG (NED): After winning U20 silver at the European Cross Country Championships, Delia Sclabas will race over 5 km in Zurich at the Silvester Lauf on Sunday, informs Swiss Athletics.
