Ingebrigtsen Dominates in Dublin

By mitchpa on December 15, 2021 • ( 0 )

by Clay Shaw

Dublin, Ireland, European Cross Country, Senior Men’s 10K, December 12, 2021—Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway took charge late in the race to win the Senior Men’s event in 30:15, as he dropped his true competitors lap by lap to win by 14 seconds. The event was held on the Sport Ireland Grounds in Fingal, which is one of four local authority areas in Dublin.

After the race he said, “It felt really good, but I have to admit 10K is not the best distance for me. At the same time we do a lot similar training to these sort of races in our normal weeks, but you are always thinking worst-case scenario. There is a lot of mud here; it is a tough race, a long race with a lot of good competitors this year. I felt like I ran with a pretty good feeling throughout the whole race. At the beginning it is just trying to get warm, and then trying to increase the pace lap by lap, but I felt good and felt quite sure of the win the whole race. But you never know, you are always in a balance of getting too tired and not feeling tired at all. The crowd was crazy and they really help us, so I´m really happy there were lots of spectators here today!”

Aras Kaya of Turkey, who won the Senior Men’s race in Lisbon in 2019, was second in 30:29, after doing much of the front-running of the race. “I am happy because I told myself that if I could medal here today, I would be very pleased with the result. It was not an easy race – the course was not too bad, the only problem is the mud. Going up and down the hill is fine for me – it was perfect for cross country – cross country is also like this. I knew I had to lead from the front – that was my plan – both Jakob [INGEBRIGTSEN] and [Yemaneberhan] CRIPPA and [Jimmy] are very strong, so I need to come out strong and neutralise the field. Someone had to get the pace going. Although I came out here as the reigning champion, overall I am very happy with my result.”

Jimmy Gressier of France, who was a two-time U23 champion, moved up in the age category and took the third podium spot in 30:34. Gressier, along with fourth place finisher Hugo Hay (30:38), Yann Schrub (6^th 30:39), and Felix Bour (8^th 30:44), led France to the team championship. “After this race, I can only be happy because Jakob [INGEBRIGTSEN] is much stronger than me. I had to concentrate on my own race because he is truly stronger than me. It was a tough race – at some point my legs started hurting – so I had to manage my effort carefully. When [Yemaneberhan] CRIPPA dropped out, I felt I had to secure third place. Knowing the French team was leading at that stage, and could get the gold medal, I felt extremely pleased. It is difficult to beat Jakob these days, he is truly the best in the World – even in cross country he is undefeatable – so I can only focus on improving, so I stand a chance of beating him at some point. In the meantime, it’s a real pleasure to race next to a true champion like him.”

Brian Fay of Ireland moved up throughout the race to place tenth in 30:45. Fay attends the University of Washington in Seattle in the USA. Fay was the first male finisher from the host country of Ireland. “I was happy. I thought the race would go off harder than it did and then it just kind of relaxed in that first K, and that let me get into a good position and I went chasing that second group. I always felt like I had momentum throughout the race, but then that last lap I was just gassed, I was spent, but then you come around and everyone is cheering you on. Every time you get to that back straight it’s like they are cheering for no one else but the Irish, you get a second wind! I think Mayo from Spain was coming around me on the last lap and I was spent, and then I just see him on my shoulder and everyone was like ‘You gotta go.’ I’m like I can’t let the team down here, let the country down, so I gave it everything and it was a good performance and I’m really happy.”

France, as noted, won the team title and were animated and happy with their victory. Spain was second, and Norway was third.

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