You know that feeling when the race starts, and everything’s chaos? Mud flying everywhere, the obstacles set up by the organizers throwing you off, and you’re just trying to find your rhythm. Cross-country runners are all over the place—dodging sandbanks, stumbling around the bends, and adjusting their stride on the rough patches. After about twenty minutes, most of them are ready to give in. But there’s always that one guy who keeps pushing, right? That guy, in this case, is Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

The Norwegian giant, who’s a little taller and heavier than most of his competitors and who doesn’t exactly seem like the natural pick for cross-country, was the one who stayed cool. Despite the chaos around him, Jakob Ingebrigtsen pulled off his third European Cross Country Championship title in four years. After a whole year off from the event, he had to miss key events, including the 2024 indoor season, the Brussels Championships, and the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, due to an Achilles injury and rehabilitation. And on 8th December, he came back strong and won in Antalya, Turkey, with a time of 22:16. He was eight seconds ahead of Italy’s Yemaneberhan Crippa, and Spain’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo came in third.

But what makes this win so epic? Well, while he was racing, Ingebrigtsen got a nasty spike wound. Bloodied, but not beaten, he pushed through, proving that it’s not just about being physically gifted—it’s about staying in the game no matter what. He could’ve let that injury slow him down, but instead, he held his composure and took the lead in the final lap, securing the win.

After the race, Jakob Ingebrigtsen opened up about what drives him. “I think it’s if you’re not feeling like you can perform, you will not do it,” he said. “So, the people that’s not theirs are most likely not able to perform, and the different braces. I think we all try to find things that we can perform and hopefully be able to fight for medals.”

It’s a mindset that is characterized a lot by him—not necessarily on the execution but on the capacity to withstand pressure. It is not the other runner he is competing with; he is competing with himself, and that is what makes one a champion. But the latest win indicated that he is a fighter on the track and a fighter in many other aspects of his life, as right now he is facing personal struggles.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen became a champion at just 16 but paid a heavy price

Just look at the story of Jakob Ingebrigtsen. This guy was already running 120 km a week at age 11 because of his father, Gjert, who was very keen on training him and his brothers, Henrik and Filip. This was all part of the reality series Team Ingebrigtsen, which aired from 2016 to 2021 and made us part of their crazy journey in the world of elite athletics. Gjert had only one mission while training Jakob, and it was to make him the best 1,500m runner across the globe. And honestly? It worked. The young Jakob hit the four-minute mark in the mile since he was sixteen years of age. However, people also had many questions about this method, and looking at the stress it exerted on Jakob during his growing age, many people had to question it.

While Jakob’s had some hard moments on the track over the past years with athletes like Jake Wightman and Josh Kerr, he has remained a man to beat. The double-threshold training popularized by his dad made him a 2021 and 2024 Olympic gold champion, so the critics can eat their words. Although on the outside Jakob has all he needs and more, this has not been an easy journey for him at all. He’s had to deal with serious issues involving his dad’s behavior.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen has accused his father of physical violence and threats; thus, their relationship deteriorated, and Gjert stopped coaching the former in 2022. It went further to become uglier when the social media was informed that Gjert is charged with abuse and his trial is expected to commence early next year. Jakob has also experienced setbacks caused perhaps by injuries. He had endured struggles with injuries, which cropped up in the Copenhagen half marathon in 2023 when he had a tough limp after powering through a 10 km personal best.

Despite all of this, Jakob has continued his progression, racing in things such as the Euro Cross, all while everything is going on behind the scenes. To compound it, entering a go-for-broke 2025 season, he also has the trial, family situation, and the pressure of raising a daughter, Filippa, born in June. Through all of the personal problems, it is obvious—Jakob Ingebrigtsen is a fighter, and perhaps not only on the track.