Kenyan stars invite Ingebrigtsens to Nairobi for rematch
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Following the cross-continent 2000m race at the Impossible Games last week, world 1500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot has invited the Ingebrigtsen brothers for a rematch of sorts on Kenyan soil.
The race last Thursday was held in Oslo, where Jakob, Filip and Henrik raced, and in Nairobi, where Cheruiyot, Elijah Manangoi and Ed Melly competed. Jakob Ingebrigtsen won in a European record of 4:50.01 with his two brothers also finishing comfortably below the five minute mark. It was also an incredible feat for Filip, who completed this fantastic time a mere hour after also running the 1,000 metre race, during which, with the help of pacemakers, he broke the country’s national record.
Cheruiyot, meanwhile, was the fastest of the Kenyan quintet, but his time of 5:03.05 was some way adrift of the winning mark.
The difference in conditions, however, between the two locations was stark. Not only is Nairobi at 1795m altitude, which has a significant effect on endurance events, but there was also heavy rain in the Kenyan capital. Oslo, meanwhile, was blessed with near perfect conditions.
“We want to invite them for training in Kenya and to compete at the Continental Tour meeting (in Nairobi on 26 September),” said Cheruiyot, who congratulated the Ingebrigstens on their victory. “It would be nice if they came and experienced the altitude and weather in Nairobi.”
Manangoi, the 2017 world champion, is also keen to run with the Norwegian family. “We would like to face them in Nairobi and I take this opportunity to invite them for the Continental Tour,” he said.
