2-time Olympic Champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen has apologised for calling his rivals “a bunch of cowards” after his disappointing fourth-place finish in the Diamond League final in Brussels. However, the multi-time Diamond League winner has made it clear that his criticism of American rival Cole Hocker remains unchanged.
Ingebrigtsen’s comments after the men’s 1500m final went viral on Saturday, September 5, after the Norwegian lashed out at his competitors following a race that saw him miss out on the Diamond League title. Speaking to a Norwegian daily, Ingebrigtsen admitted that he went too far when he described his rivals as losers, but doubled down on his criticism of Hocker and his team.
“I shouldn’t have called anyone losers. I apologise for that. It was beneath me, regardless of the adrenaline and emotions,” Ingebrigtsen said.
“But I stand by what I said about Cole and his team acting cowardly. They told the other athletes and the organisers that they were targeting a specific pace and were bringing in their own pacemaker to set that pace, but then they did something completely different.”
WHY WAS INGEBRIGSTEN ANGRY?
Ingebrigtsen’s anger stemmed from the tactics used during the 1500m final, particularly the change in pacemaker involving Hocker. The Norwegian had expected a faster race and felt that the tactics employed by Hocker’s camp had gone against what had been communicated to the athletes and organisers.
“When you promise the crowd a fast race, you have a responsibility to follow through, at least in my view. This isn’t about me losing. I wasn’t good enough. It’s about taking responsibility for the commitments you’ve made to the meeting organisers, the crowd and your competitors,” he added.
Ingebrigtsen had appeared on course for victory for much of the race, but faded in the closing stages as Australia’s Cameron Myers produced a perfectly timed burst to win the Diamond League final.
Myers held his nerve in a tightly contested finish to win in 3:30.14, edging Kenya’s Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech by just four hundredths of a second. America’s Ethan Strand finished third in 3:30.50, with Ingebrigtsen two hundredths further back in fourth in 3:30.52.
The result was another difficult outing for Ingebrigtsen, who is still working his way back after undergoing Achilles surgery in February. The Norwegian had dictated much of the pace and appeared to be in contention for a morale-boosting victory, but could not hold off the chasing pack over the final 30 metres.
Hocker, meanwhile, finished eighth in 3:30.80.
After the race, Ingebrigtsen had accused his rivals of hiding behind one another and criticised the pacemaking strategy. He specifically pointed towards the decision involving Hocker and Christian Jackson, who trains alongside the American.
“Cole, he got the pacemaker changed and swapped to his own teammate on behalf of a French pacer. Everybody thought he was forcing himself to follow the pacemaker, but that was just a trick. He fooled all of us. He decided to hide behind everyone else,” Ingebrigtsen had said.
The Norwegian’s frustration eventually boiled over in the mixed zone, where he said he was disappointed with both the race and the result.
“I’m very disappointed in the race and the result, I’m racing against a bunch of cowards. That is what it is,” Ingebrigtsen said after the race.
“It’s only Cameron [Myers] that’s a good racer, everyone else looked like losers, me included.”
MATTER WITH HOCKER IS SETTLED: INGEBRIGTSEN
Despite maintaining his criticism of Hocker and his team, Ingebrigtsen revealed that he has already spoken to the American about the incident and believes the matter between the two athletes has been settled.
The Norwegian also questioned why Hocker’s agent had become involved in the fallout, insisting that the two athletes had discussed what happened after the race.
“Cole and I talked it through after the race. As far as we’re concerned, the matter is settled, so I don’t really understand why his agent is getting involved in all of this now,” Ingebrigtsen said.
Ingebrigtsen also hit back at the wider backlash to his comments, suggesting that athletes should be allowed to show emotion after major races.
“If you’re not allowed to show a bit of passion after a race, you should find a sport that doesn’t want an audience,” he said.
For Ingebrigtsen, the apology marks a partial walk-back from his explosive comments in Brussels. He has accepted that calling his rivals “losers” was beneath him, but has refused to withdraw his central criticism of Hocker’s tactics.
And while the Norwegian admitted that he was simply not good enough to win the race, he remains convinced that the controversy surrounding the pacemaking strategy was separate from the result itself.
– Ends
