Jakob Ingebrigtsen says he is ready for the unpredictable, elbow-jostling cut and thrust of "stressful" indoor track running in his quest for double world gold in Nanjing.
The Norwegian will compete in his favored 1,500m and the 3,000m in China as part of a long season that culminates in the outdoor world championships in Tokyo in September.
A double Olympic champion and two-time world champion over 5,000m, Ingebrigtsen comes into the competition on the back of victories in the 1,500m and 3,000m at the European indoor championships in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.
They were his 15th and 16th European senior titles across all surfaces and championships.
▲ Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen celebrates winning the men's 3,000m final at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands, on March 9. REUTERS
In his last outing at a world indoors, Ingebrigtsen finished second in the 1,500m to Ethiopian Samuel Tefera in Belgrade in 2022.
That was sandwiched between two world outdoor 1,500m silvers, as the Norwegian was twice outsprinted by Britons — Jake Wightman in 2022 and Josh Kerr a year later.
Ingebrigtsen was surprisingly beaten by Cole Hocker in the 1,500m Olympic final last year, finishing outside the medals, but bounced back to win the 5,000m gold.
He insisted his preparations had set him up well for Nanjing, including setting a new world indoor record of 3min 29.63sec for the 1,500m in Lievin, France last month en route to a new world best in the mile.
"I had a good start for 2025 with a couple of good races. My training has been very good since last summer," he told reporters.
"I've been healthy. I feel strong. I feel good improvement. We're definitely on the right path and doing some things right, and hopefully improving in general."
Turning to the challenges of competing indoors, where the track is just 200 meters, Ingebrigtsen said: "People are a little more stressed when it comes to indoors, because, obviously, the track is half the size and there is usually still the same amount of competitors.
"Many people feel like they only have so much time to do the things they want to do.
"I always try to do things with a little bit of an extra margin.
"When you run indoors, everything looks a little bit more extreme and a little bit more decisive, because the outcome can be a little bit tricky if you don't make the right move at the right time.
