Timothy Cheruiyot has acknowledged Jakob Ingebrigtsen as his toughest rival.
The 2019 world 1500m champion, Timothy Cheruiyot, has singled out Jakob Ingebrigtsen for praise as he sidelined other formidable runners, including Josh Kerr and Cole Hocker.
Timothy Cheruiyot revealed that he has been competing against Ingebrigtsen for quite some time now and when they started, he was the one who always won races over the Norwegian distance runner.
At the 2019 World Championships, when Timothy Cheruiyot was winning, Jakob Ingebrigtsen finished a distant fourth in the 1500m final. The Kenyan also silenced the two-time Olympic champion in several Diamond League Meeting races before his injury struck.
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However, an injury in 2022 saw Cheruiyot fail to defend his title, finishing sixth as Jakob Ingebrigtsen finished second. In 2023, the trend continued as Timothy Cheruiyot failed to make the final while Jakob Ingebrigtsen finished second.
Cheruiyot explained that Jakob Ingebrigtsen started copying his running style and that is how he has managed to dominate over him in the past seasons.
“I’m always monitoring my opponents…my toughest opponent for now is Jakob. He started beating me when I was having an injury but I also see him coming up fast,” Timothy Cheruiyot said in an interview with Sports Wave Africa Foundation.
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“I think he was monitoring me when I beat him. I think he is using the same tactics that I used when beating him. He always goes to the front and goes one way.
“He learnt from me in 2019, at the World Championships and he is using the tactic I used to win. He has more endurance than me.”
Timothy Cheruiyot has expressed interest in moving to the 5000m after years of running the 1500m and there, he will also lock horns with the two-time world champion who has also managed to dominate the distance.
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Ingebrigtsen won the 5000m title at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships in Eugene and Budapest and also claimed the win in the distance at the Paris Olympic Games. The challenge from Ingebrigtsen will still be there and he has to find a permanent way of eclipsing him.