Jakob Ingebrigtsen endured one of the longest spells away from track and field of his career. The 2x Olympic champion spent almost 11 months on the sidelines before finally making his return to competition in August 2026. Now, after getting back on the track, Ingebrigtsen has opened up about the difficult period and what he learned from it.

For Ingebrigtsen, being unable to compete was particularly difficult. The Norwegian missed out on the entirety of the Diamond League season alongisde multiple other competitions. Not just that, he had to watch rival Josh Kerr set a new world record in a distance he has thrived in.

“Watching the sport on TV and from the sidelines is my worst nightmare,” Ingebrigtsen told Olympics.com. The Norwegian said he would follow races and results while injured and find himself thinking, “Wow, I could have won that.”

After spending months unable to compete, he said returning to racing has made him appreciate the part of his career he loves most: going “back and forth, race after race” against the world’s best.

The road to that comeback had been difficult. Ingebrigtsen revealed in February that he had been struggling with his Achilles for some time that had forced him to miss a lot of training and racing. After the problem flared up again in January, he and his team decided surgery was necessary.

The 25-year-old stressed that the Achilles tendon itself was healthy. The problem was the sheath around it, which had become damaged and covered in scar tissue. Doctors removed that scar tissue during the operation in the United States.

Ingebrigtsen said the surgery was not something he took lightly, but believed it was the right decision for the longevity of his career. “The surgery went very smoothly and I’m relieved to finally have a clear path of recovery back to the start line after many months of uncertainty,” he said at the time. However, his injury had already disrupted his 2025 campaign.

After missing races earlier in the season, Ingebrigtsen still pushed to compete at the World Championships in Tokyo. His return did not go as planned. He was eliminated in the 1500m heats and later finished 10th in the 5000m final. After surgery, there was initially no certainty about when he would return.  His management said in April that he was unlikely to race before the second half of the 2026 season.

It mean that his comeback dependent on how his training progressed. By July, however, Ingebrigtsen had decided he was ready to return at the European Championships.

“If you’re waiting for the perfect preparation, perfect conditions, perfect timing, you’ll be waiting your whole life,” Ingebrigtsen wrote when announcing his return.

“Anyone who has watched me race over the years will know that competition is what drives me,” he said. “I am healthy, training has been going well and after discussing with my team, we reached the conclusion that there is no reason not to race.”

His comeback in Birmingham was remarkable given the circumstances. Ingebrigtsen had only around six weeks of hard training before the European 5000m final, yet he managed to produce a 13:15.29 victory. He came from behind in the final lap and produced a 54-second finish to overtake Florian Bremm and Etienne Daguinos.

The victory gave him a fourth consecutive European outdoor 5000m title and extended his remarkable record at the European Championships, a major confidence boost.

“I doubted myself every day coming in to this and every minute leading up to the last lap today,” Ingebrigtsen admitted after the race.

The comeback, though, has not been a straight return to his old level. Ingebrigtsen finished fourth in the 1500m at the Silesia Diamond League and fifth in Zurich before placing fourth in the Diamond League Final in Brussels. In Brussels, he ran 3:30.52, his fastest 1500m time of the season. He led for much of the race but faded in the closing stages as Australia’s Cameron Myers won in 3:30.14.

The result frustrated Ingebrigtsen, who later admitted that he was not yet as strong as he wanted to be. His emotions spilled over after the race as he criticised the tactics of his rivals. He later apologised for calling them “losers” and “a bunch of cowards,” although he maintained his criticism of Cole Hocker’s tactics. Away from the controversy, the bigger story for Ingebrigtsen is that he is finally racing consistently again.

“For me it’s like a reminder of what I very much do not want to end up doing in the future,” he told Olympics.com.

Ingebrigtsen does not claim to have a perfect answer for preventing another injury. He accepts that there is always uncertainty in elite sport, but believes experience will help him make better choices about training, recovery and his body. But his focus now extends beyond the remainder of 2026.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen sets sights on Budapest and LA28

Jakob’s next major target is the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, which runs from September 11 to 13, 2026 at the National Athletics Centre. There has, however, been an important change to his original plan.

Jakob qualified for both the 1500m and 5000m, but could skip the 1500m in Budapest and focus only on the 5000m. That makes sense when you look at his comeback timeline. He only returned to competition in August. Also, the men’s 5000m final is scheduled for Friday, September 11, which means Jakob will begin his Ultimate Championship campaign on the opening night rather than waiting until the final day.

But Budapest is not the final destination for Ingebrigtsen. His bigger plan is to use the next two seasons to rebuild the consistency for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. After his comeback, Ingebrigtsen made it clear that the priority is not simply racing as often as possible.

“I’m going to train,” he said. “It is very simple, and it’s very easy. It’s about being consistent in training and doing all the things every day as well as you can for the next two years leading up to LA.” Budapest is the next test, but the bigger objective is to stay healthy, train consistently, and arrive in Los Angeles ready to compete for Olympic gold once again.