Norwegian track star Jakob Ingebrigsten has had an eventful time at the European Indoor Championships in Torun. After seemingly storming to gold in the 1,500 metres, the European Indoor record holder was subsequently disqualified for a minor lane infringement.
During the first lap, Ingebrigsten appeared to have momentarily stepped his left foot outside the lane after a brief collision just behind the leaders. It wasn't long before the 20-year-old Norwegian took control of the race and from there, he simply had too much for the chasing pack, which included two Irish finalists for just the second time in European Indoor history - Andrew Coscoran and Paul Robinson.
Stepping out of line. Dragging out of line. Jacob. DQed. #Torun2021 pic.twitter.com/BO2hjWzZbD
— Atletizm Dünyası #SaveWater (@atletizmdunyasi) March 5, 2021
Following the race, Ingebrigsten was disqualified for the infringement, meaning that the gold medal was set to go to Poland's Marcin Lewandowski, the defending champion competing on home soil, who finished at 3:38.06. There was a clear gap between Lewandowski and Ingebrigsten's finish at 3:37.56, and following an appeal that went late into the night, the Norwegian was reinstated as champion.
Those with Irish interests will be pleased with the strong showings of Coscoran who finished 7th with a time of 3:40.38 and Robinson who came in 10th after running 3:40.74.
Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins the 1500m at the European Indoor Championships in impressive style, with Ireland's Andrew Coscoran seventh and Paul Robinson 10th. #torun2021 pic.twitter.com/dIdoMoJfBk
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 5, 2021