The Norwegian started strongly during the first ten kilometers in Copenhagen and was clocked at 27.27 – 12 seconds better than the Norwegian record, according to NTB.
But then the performance faltered.
Ingebrigtsen stopped and many interpreted it as him being content with ten kilometers and throwing in the towel. Then he started running again, only to stop once more – and subsequently continued running.
Afterwards, he admitted to feeling tired and having heavy legs.
I ran until I was about to die and stopped. Then I ran until I was about to die again and stopped. It was probably not very smart to run a half-marathon, he says to NRK.
Ingebrigtsen was thus never close to threatening a victory. The leading pack pulled away, and Kenyan Sabastian Sawe won with a time of 58.05. Ingebrigtsen was clocked at 1.03.13, which earned him 34th place in the competition.
After crossing the finish line, a completely exhausted Ingebrigtsen lay down on his back on the asphalt and caught his breath.
If there hadn't been so much cheering along the way, I probably wouldn't have made it to the finish, he says.
The 23-year-old has previously won Olympic Games gold in the 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters and recently set a world record in the 3,000 meters. He had never before run over 10 kilometers in an official competition and didn't have high expectations for himself before the race.
"It will be exciting to see if I can even make it to the finish," he said in a press release before the competition.
