by Stuart Weir
Jakub Ingebrigtsen leads the Men’s 1,500m, photo by European Athletics
Jakub Ingebrigtsen takes the Men’s 1,500m, photo by European Athletics
Jakub Ingebrigtsen takes the Men’s 1,500m, photo by European Athletics
This is the original piece on the Men’s 1,500m, when Jakub Ingebrigtsen was disqualified at the end of the race, due to a lane violation. We will post the second version next. This is piece 3 on Day 1.
A race of high drama
The 1500m, the metric mile, is always one of the highlights of a track meet. The men’s 1500m was more eagerly awaited than usual in ToruÅ„ because it was the event of the local hero and ambassador for the event, Marcin Lewandowski. And to make it even better, Lewandowski – 33 and heading towards the end of his career – would face Jakob Ingebrigsten, just 20 and one of the brightest stars in European athletics.
Ingebrigtsen led for most of the race with Lewandowski in pursuit. There was a moment on the final lap when he looked to be gaining on his younger opponent but the Norwegian held him off. They finished the race and the winner commented “It was a busy race. I entered with the fastest time, but still, you need to be in shape and do the right things in the final. Today I felt really strong and confident. I proved that I am the best 1500m runner here today. It helps winning races. I am lucky to be in a position to run. I am happy about the opportunity we get. I enjoy getting better and better. Winning tonight motivates me even more”.
The reference to the “busy race” reflected the fact that there were 13 athletes on the start line with a faller from the semi-final being reinstated. Steve Cram, on BBC commentary, uttered a prophetic word when he expressed reservations about so many runners on a tight indoor track.
Jakub Ingebrigtsen takes the Men’s 1,500m, photo by European Athletics
The race was duly finished and Ingebrigtsen celebrated. Then came the dramatic announcement that under rule 17.3.2, the Norwegian have been disqualified for stepping off the track. We immediately recalled the last European Indoor Championship in Glasgow 2019 when Ingebrigtsen (this time’s older brother, Filip) suffered the same fate. We also recalled that Mr. Ingebrigtsen senior had some choice words for European Athletics on that occasion.
Lewandowski desperately wanted to win for his nation but not like this. He commented: “I was second on the finish but finally have a gold after Ingebrigtsen’s disqualification. It is a sport and it could happen to anybody. I experienced it during World Championships, so I know what he feels now. During the race, he was definitely better. He knew I prefer a slower tempo, so decided to lead the race very fast. I tried to catch him and didn’t want to battle only for silver. In one moment, I was nearby, but his finish was incredible. It wouldn’t be a shame to lose to a guy, who almost broke a world record, but finally today I am with gold”.
Marcin Lewandowski speaks with Jakub Ingebrigtsen, Men’s 1,500m, photo by European Athletics
While many will say that the rules are the rules and that they have to be enforced. I had great sympathy with the judgment of Hannah England (a world 1500m silver medalist herself) when she said this evening: “Did he step off the track to gain an advantage or to avoid falling over?”. She could have added and was he perhaps nudged from behind. An enthusiastically anticipated race had ended in a way that nobody wanted.
I want to end my report on a positive. There were two British runners in the race. Neil Gourley, a finalist in Doha, ran a disappointing race finishing 11th, Piers Copeland, just 22, and in his first senior championship, finished fourth just 0.3 of a second off the bronze medal. He said afterward: “I’m pretty happy with the result I think, if you’d have said fifth [where he finished] before the champs I would have taken that with both hands but on the day I feel like maybe I could have got a bit higher up but the legs just weren’t quite there”.
