BIRMINGHAM, UK – The 2024 European Athletics Championships delivered one of the most dramatic comeback stories in modern track and field on Monday, as Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen capped a 324-day layoff following Achilles tendon surgery with a sensational gold medal in the men’s 5000m, extending his record to seven career European Championship titles.
The 25-year-old Norwegian delivered his signature devastating final sprint to cross the finish line in 13 minutes 15.29 seconds, securing his status as the most decorated male athlete in the history of the European Athletics Championships. Ingebrigtsen has remained undefeated at the continental event since his breakout 1500m/5000m double as a teenager at the 2018 Berlin Championships, a streak that looked seriously in doubt after he underwent surgery following a disappointing 10th-place finish in the 10000m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Monday’s race marked Ingebrigtsen’s first competitive outing since that 2023 race, and even the athlete himself admitted he never expected to return to the top step of the podium so quickly. “Coming from the lowest of lows to be European champion again means the world to me. Not even I believed it could happen coming here,” Ingebrigtsen told reporters after the race. “I doubted myself every day coming in to this and every minute leading up to the last lap today, but I’m always hoping to do my best.”
Germany’s Florian Bremm took silver, while France’s Etienne Daguinos claimed bronze. Daguinos paid tribute to Ingebrigtsen’s legacy, calling him “a legend of our sport. We knew if he’s here tonight it was because he is good shape.”
Ingebrigtsen’s fairy tale comeback headlined a day of standout results at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium, which also saw home-crowd favorite Amy Hunt claim gold in the women’s 100m. Hunt clocked 11.00 seconds to secure victory, holding off Poland’s Ewa Swoboda (silver) and Belgium’s Delphine Nkansa (bronze). Defending champion Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain finished out of the medals in fifth place.
Dutch shot put star Jessica Schilder made history of her own, securing a third consecutive European women’s shot put title with a winning throw of 20.73m on her final attempt. Schilder’s win made her the first woman to win three European titles in the event since Soviet Union icon Nadezhda Chizhova claimed four straight golds between 1966 and 1974. Teammate Jorinde van Klinken took silver with a personal best 19.64m, while Germany’s Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye (now Yemisi Mabry) rounded out the podium with 19.50m.
“This was the easiest (of the three European titles). There was quite a gap with the other competitors,” Schilder said after the win, adding “I will never get tired of this feeling, I will never get bored of winning these medals.”
Italy matched the Netherlands’ one-two finish in the men’s shot put, where defending champion Leonardo Fabbri successfully retained his title with a throw of 22.31m. Zane Weir took silver for Italy, while Sweden’s Wictor Petterson claimed bronze.
Norway closed out the day with another gold, as three-time 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm anchored the Norwegian mixed 4x400m relay quartet to victory. Amalie Iuel, Andreas Ofstad Kulseng and Henriette Jaeger joined Warholm to clock a new championship record of 3:09.62, finishing ahead of Great Britain and the Netherlands.