Jakob Ingebrigtsen will defend his title at the European Cross Country Championships in Brussels on 10 December. The Norwegian Olympic 1500m Champion will target his third consecutive victory among the pros at Laeken Park.
Whatever the result, Belgian athletics fans are looking forward and counting down to the European Championships. Laeken Park, home to the Brussels CrossCup for many years, always offers a spectacular course and race. Besides the presence of all the other European and Belgian top runners, the participation of Ingebrigtsen is yet another reason to head to Brussels.
The still only 23-year-old Norwegian is a phenomenon on the track, winning Olympic gold, World Championships gold and most recently running the 2000m World Record at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme. Additionally, he has already established an impressive track record in cross-country running. He is aiming for his seventh consecutive European title this year: four in the U23 and already two in the Elite.
“I will definitely be there in Brussels,” Ingebrigtsen just announced. “As always, it will be my first competition after the track season. If it rains, it’s muddy and tough in Brussels, especially if there have been some earlier races. That’s okay for me. But I am actually hoping more for frost so that the course is hard. Then it will resemble my training ground in western Norway in December.”
Incidentally, our compatriots are also keen on a strong performance at the European Championships. It’s not for nothing that top athletes like Isaac Kimeli and Robin Hendrix will interrupt their altitude training to start in the CrossCup in Roeselare this weekend thereby starting their cross-country preparation. Moreover, Pieter-Jan Hannes has announced he is going all out in his last months as a professional athlete to be able to say goodbye at the European Championships.
