Norwegian distance runner goes under the knife to solve persistent problem that wrecked his 2025 season.
Conspiracy theorists who have posted online recently speculating about Jakob Ingebrigtsen being injured again have been proved right as the Olympic 5000m champion announced on Friday (Feb 6) that he had undergone surgery in the United States this week.
Athletics fans online had suggested he cut an altitude camp in January short, his posts on YouTube and Instagram had gone relatively quiet and recent workouts were thought to have been done largely on an elliptical machine.
Ingebrigtsen struggled with Achilles problems last year and after failing to make the world 1500m final in Tokyo he finished 10th in the world 5000m final, four seconds behind winner Cole Hocker of the United States.
The first part of his winter training is thought to have gone well but his left Achilles flared up in January and he decided to have surgery.
“Those of you who have followed over the past couple of years will know I’ve been struggling with my achilles,” he wrote on Instagram. “A persistent and very specific injury that forced me to miss a lot of training and racing.
“Around two weeks ago, the achilles flared up again and we finally took the decision to travel to America for surgery. This is of course not something to be taken lightly but absolutely the right thing for the longevity of my career.
“The surgery went very smoothly and I’m relieved to have a clear path of recovery back to the start line after many months of uncertainty.
“Running is not always sunshine and rainbows but injuries are part of the sport and setbacks are a part of life. Grateful to have an amazing team and support system around me.”
He added on YouTube that surgery was “100 per cent necessary” in order to return to full fitness in future and he finished his Instagram post by quoting the famous line from the Terminator: “I’ll be back!”
His competitive return is unlikely to be in 2026, though. Instead, the surgery probably has the 2027 World Championships in Beijing and 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles in mind.
Returning to full fitness from Achilles surgery can take around nine months to a year. Ingebrigtsen says the surgery went well but he was also pictured wearing a boot and sitting in a wheelchair.
He added on YouTube that the Achilles itself was not too bad but the problem was the sheath around it and accompanying scar tissue. “The scar tissue has now been removed,” he said on YouTube, “and the surgery itself was not that big so the recovery time is thought to be relatively short so hopefully I won’t be out for very long … and it’s not as bad as it seems.”
The surgery follows hot on the heels of a Guardian interview published two weeks earlier where he said: ““The achilles is very good. But because of the last couple of years, I am a little bit more cautious. So I am prioritising my fitness towards the outdoor season.
“I will probably start at the Bislett Games in June. But my goals are to get double gold at the European championships, a Diamond League final victory, and to make one good world record attempt in the 1500m, the mile and also the 5000m.”
The 25-year-old won the Olympic 1500m title in 2021, Olympic 5000m in 2024 and world 5000m gold in 2022 and 2023. He has also won multiple European titles, world indoor crowns and broken various world records although he was keen to attack Hicham El Guerrouj’s long-standing world 1500m and mile records this year.