‘Deer on ice’ – Jakob Ingebrigtsen declined invite to athletics event and rival thinks he knows why
Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be a notable absentee from Michael Johnson’s inaugural Grand Slam Track when it kicks off in April. Launched in June 2024 by the four-time Olympic gold medallist, the lucrative new league will see the world’s elite runners compete in a never-before-seen format. GettyJakob Ingebrigtsen has won Olympic gold in two separate track events[/caption] Grand Slam Track (GST) will host four annual ‘Slams’ taking place on a weekend between April and September, the first of which begins in Kingston, Jamaica next week. And with $100,000 in prize money up for grabs for the winners of each slam, the new-look event has attracted plenty of leading names from the world of track. That is with the exception of two-time Olympic champion Ingebrigtsen, who has opted to sit out the reimagined format. The Norwegian won 5000m gold at the Paris 2024 Games, but missed out on a medal in his defence of his 1500m title as Cole Hocker, Josh Kerr and Yared Nuguse all pipped him at the finish line. And Britain’s Kerr, with whom he shares a long-standing rivalry, has brutally suggested a reason for Ingebrigtsen’s absence from GST. The league format requires athletes to choose an event category, within which they must compete in both of its two corresponding disciplines. For Ingebrigtsen, this would mean choosing between the ‘short distance’ 800m/1500m grouping, and the ‘long distance’ 3000m/5000m category. With this leaving the 24-year-old unable to take part in his two strongest events, Kerr claimed his adversary would be out of his depth competing against him in his chosen ‘short distance’ discipline. Previewing GST on the Citius Magazine podcast in January, the Brit said: “This is the future of track and field. It’s just a fact. I think it’s smart that he didn’t sign up, to be honest. “In any non-paced race, he hasn’t won in the last couple of years and so you’re going to throw him in a bunch of non-paced races? It seems silly, to do that. It’s going expose most of his tactical stuff. Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track will welcome 48 athletes in Miami, Philadelphia and Los Angeles following the opening meet in Kingston, JamaicaEPA Josh Kerr is a two-time 1500m Olympic medallist, winning bronze at Tokyo 2020 and silver at Paris 2024Getty “And if he was in the 800-1500 group, watching him run the 800 would be a lot like a deer on ice. “I just don’t think so. I think he would come in and run the 3k and 5k.” Kerr added: “Yeah, I’d love for him to come and run the 800m and 1500m. I think it would be hilarious.” His comments were likely a response to Ingebrigtsen’s own previous suggestion that Kerr would be unable to compete at cross country. After winning cross country gold at the European Championships last December, the Norwegian appeared to take a swipe at Kerr, who chose not to compete. He told Athletics Weekly: “I think if you can’t feel like you will perform then you will not do it. GettyThe 27-year-old enjoyed victory over his Norwegian rival at the last Summer Games, having sparked a feud with him a year earlier[/caption] “The people who are not here are most likely not able to perform in these different races.” And with the pair wasting no opportunities to aim digs at each other in their ongoing feud, which began at the 2023 World Championship, Ingebrigtsen prompty hit back at Kerr’s GST comments. In response, the runner told Norway’s TV2: “The day he contributes to the race for world records, I will take him seriously. But only then.” Fans will certainly be disappointed not to see the middle-distance stars reignite their rivalry at the new-look event. A host of other athletics stars will be in action when the competition kicks off on April 4, including Paris 2024 100m bronze and silver medallists Fred Kerley and Kenny Bednarek. Four-time Olympic champion and 400m hurdle world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and British sprinters Zharnel Hughes and Dina Asher-Smith will also be in action next week.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be a notable absentee from Michael Johnson’s inaugural Grand Slam Track when it kicks off in April.
Launched in June 2024 by the four-time Olympic gold medallist, the lucrative new league will see the world’s elite runners compete in a never-before-seen format.
Grand Slam Track (GST) will host four annual ‘Slams’ taking place on a weekend between April and September, the first of which begins in Kingston, Jamaica next week.
And with $100,000 in prize money up for grabs for the winners of each slam, the new-look event has attracted plenty of leading names from the world of track.
That is with the exception of two-time Olympic champion Ingebrigtsen, who has opted to sit out the reimagined format.
The Norwegian won 5000m gold at the Paris 2024 Games, but missed out on a medal in his defence of his 1500m title as Cole Hocker, Josh Kerr and Yared Nuguse all pipped him at the finish line.
And Britain’s Kerr, with whom he shares a long-standing rivalry, has brutally suggested a reason for Ingebrigtsen’s absence from GST.
The league format requires athletes to choose an event category, within which they must compete in both of its two corresponding disciplines.
For Ingebrigtsen, this would mean choosing between the ‘short distance’ 800m/1500m grouping, and the ‘long distance’ 3000m/5000m category.
With this leaving the 24-year-old unable to take part in his two strongest events, Kerr claimed his adversary would be out of his depth competing against him in his chosen ‘short distance’ discipline.
Previewing GST on the Citius Magazine podcast in January, the Brit said: “This is the future of track and field. It’s just a fact. I think it’s smart that he didn’t sign up, to be honest.
“In any non-paced race, he hasn’t won in the last couple of years and so you’re going to throw him in a bunch of non-paced races? It seems silly, to do that. It’s going expose most of his tactical stuff.
“And if he was in the 800-1500 group, watching him run the 800 would be a lot like a deer on ice.
“I just don’t think so. I think he would come in and run the 3k and 5k.”
Kerr added: “Yeah, I’d love for him to come and run the 800m and 1500m. I think it would be hilarious.”
His comments were likely a response to Ingebrigtsen’s own previous suggestion that Kerr would be unable to compete at cross country.
After winning cross country gold at the European Championships last December, the Norwegian appeared to take a swipe at Kerr, who chose not to compete.
He told Athletics Weekly: “I think if you can’t feel like you will perform then you will not do it.
“The people who are not here are most likely not able to perform in these different races.”
And with the pair wasting no opportunities to aim digs at each other in their ongoing feud, which began at the 2023 World Championship, Ingebrigtsen prompty hit back at Kerr’s GST comments.
In response, the runner told Norway’s TV2: “The day he contributes to the race for world records, I will take him seriously. But only then.”
Fans will certainly be disappointed not to see the middle-distance stars reignite their rivalry at the new-look event.
A host of other athletics stars will be in action when the competition kicks off on April 4, including Paris 2024 100m bronze and silver medallists Fred Kerley and Kenny Bednarek.
Four-time Olympic champion and 400m hurdle world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and British sprinters Zharnel Hughes and Dina Asher-Smith will also be in action next week.
