The 21-year-old has amassed wins and medals at the senior championship for four years. But the big diamonds you get as the winner of the Diamond League, he never gets.

– Unlucky! said Jakob Ingebrigtsen of the reason, and laughed.

Last year he became the Olympic champion, beating Timothy Cheruiyot for the first time. But when the final in the Diamond League took place a month later, it was the Kenyans who were the strongest in the duel. He claims it worked as expected.

– Then and it didn’t give me as much as I’d like, so now it’s a little different, says Ingebrigtsen.

– Then I was pretty tired after what happened in Tokyo. Quite understandable. I feel a little better and more prepared this year. Before that, I was no better, he added.

– Bigger goals

Andreas Thorkildsen was the first Norwegian to win the Diamond League final, the first year it was held, in 2010. Karsten Warholm won the trophy in 2020 and 2021. At 1500 metres, 10 of the last 11 wins went to Kenya.

And Ingebrigtsen admits it’s a title that hangs pretty high.

– It’s great to win things you’ve never won before, and I know that it takes a lot to qualify for these races. “This is the best of the best, this is a real final,” he said, adding that it was difficult to compare it to a medal.

– That’s the good thing. You can work on things a little differently, so that’s of course a bigger goal for me and to win the final.

Tracking more races that can’t be ridden

The double European champion has won all the Diamond League matches he has participated in this season. One British mile in Eugene and in Bislett, and at 1500 meters in Lausanne. Now ready for the final race of the year, in Zurich, where the 1500 meters will be held on Thursday.

But he couldn’t believe the time was as fast as nearly two weeks ago.

– There’s a bit more at stake than usual in normal Diamond League voting, so people might be going a little less slick and a little more uncertain than usual. When there is a lot at stake, like in a championship, you do a lot of stupid things, which makes it more unpredictable. But I really like to run fast and win at the same time, said Ingebrigtsen confidently.

There is 30,000 Swiss francs, which is over NOK 300,000, in the prize money for the winner.

– I thought very little about it, he said.

• Watch the Diamond League from Zurich on NRK2 from 5.30pm on Wednesday nights, and from 19.00pm Thursdays.