Jakob Ingebrigtsen won gold in the 5,000m at the European Athletics Championships, capping a remarkable comeback from Achilles surgery that had kept him off the track for nearly a year. The Norwegian only returned to training six weeks ago after undergoing surgery in January, and his victory extends his unbeaten run at the championships, a result he himself admitted seemed almost impossible beforehand.

The 25-year-old clocked 13 minutes 15.29 seconds, claiming a record-equalling seventh European title after a slow start left him boxed in behind France's Jimmy Gressier before a late surge secured victory. It was his first race since finishing 10th at the World Championships in Tokyo last September, and it stretches his unbeaten streak in European track finals to 12 races since 2019, with former marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe praising his resilience despite calling his tactics "textbook how not to run" a comeback race.