The Ingebrigtsen Family is very special and fortunate in sports. From seven children, five are into running. The athletes come from Lura, Sandnes, in the county of Rogaland, Norway. Sandnes is neighbor to Stavanger (my city) by the way. The three professionals, Henrik, Filip and Jakob are elite racers and they make Norway very proud. They run mostly 1500, 3000 and 5000 meters. All three of them have a collection of victories, including: bronze, silver and gold medals in Europeen championships.
Gjert Ingebrigtsen is the father. And the trainer. He is self learned and he began to coach his oldest son, and then the second oldest and so on. And his dedication and expertise has resulted in several records and first places, from local races to the Olympic games. He coaches also a few other runners (lucky ones).
Why Jakob is distinguished among the others.
Jakob is seven years younger than Filip, and nine years younger than Henrik. Since Jakob was a child, he used to watch his older brothers run, train and compete. He decided to follow in their footsteps, and do more: to go further and become the best runner in the world. He began to run children’s races at the age of eight. When he was fifteen years old, he ran the Diamond League and he became the youngest runner to do 1500m in less than four minutes. He was impressing the adult competitors and the sports specialists.
Let’s go to what we can learn from Jakob’s story.
1.Determination. You know the saying: “If you don’t know where you want to go, any path will do it”. Jakob always knew where he wanted to go. As he was determined, decisive and insisted with his dad, he began to be professionally trained at the early age of twelve. So no maybe for him. Being indecisive doesn’t get us our gold medal.
2.Wiling to face the bad side. Most people who have a strong wish to accomplish a dream are not aware, and not willing to make the sacrifices that come with the job. Less time with the family, hard training, deal with exhaustion, physical pain, severe loss in social life and so on. As a teenager, Jakob used to train every morning, before school. No parties between trainings. Like every thing in life, when you make a choice, you are letting go the other alternatives.

3. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go farther, go together. A family that trains together, wins together. Jakob’s biggest advantage is called Gjert Ingebritsen, a.k.a. dad. Though many times the role of father conflicts with the coach, Gjert’s history is absolutely successful. Training with his older brothers has always given Jakob motivation. He looked up to them and was eager to run faster. Who do you look up to?
4.Super body. This part is amazing. Jakob had seen his older brothers train, compete, win and lose. Since he decided what he wanted, he began his training earlier than his brothers. He actually runned children’s races at 11 years old. He had talent. The extraordinary part is that: His body developed in a way that favors a top level racer. As he began to train, his father had gained a lot of experience and prepared special training for him. He grew up together with his training. His whole body grew up and was shaped to win. Jakob began at 12. His brothers began at 15ish. Many tests were taken and the result was: Jakob’s level of oxigen intaking is above average. Jakob’s lungs have better capacity. That alongside with his trainer’s learning from the previous mistakes. All that package has given Jakob better chances to win. And that, my friend, inspires you and me to go to the gym on a rainy Monday.
5. Self confidence. Jakob knows his potential. He respects his opponents, but he knows how far he can go. In his interview at the beginning of the olympic games in Tokyo, Jakob states that his goal is the gold medal. anything else but the gold medal would be a big disappointment for him. And he did it.
Self confidence is: knowing that you are worth to be happy. Self confidence helps us find the best strategies in our lives, and it prevents us from doing self sabotage. Jakob had a fantastic move, going to first position a little too early in the 1500 m race. This way, he attracted his biggest opponent, Chariot, like a magnet. Chariot passed Jakob and was in first position almost all the race. At the final lap though, Jakob was fresh to take first place and win.
6. A good loser. When he lost other opportunities, his statement was realistic and focused on learning from his mistakes. He was never playing victim or blaming others. “I’ll go home, learn from my mistakes and do better next time”. How many times do we blame others for what’s wrong in our lives?
Special reason: his mother, Tone Ingebrigtsen. She is a super mom. She has seven children and has taken care of Jakob’s well being, food, clothes, rest and all. She has taken the whole family to watch the races, they have traveled the world. The family support makes a big difference.
I am fortunate to say that the Ingebrigtsen brothers and I share the same physiotherapist: Lene Authen. She is gifted, amazingly talented and dedicated to her job. You can see her at the tv show. Yes, there’s a reality show about the Ingebrigtsen family that is a must watch. You can click here to watch it with English subtitles. Check my top 20 Norwegian tv shows here.
Yes, I have seen an Ingebrigtsen run! Henrik took part on a competition three years ago, in Sandnes. And I was there. I even got a selfie with him. It’s like they run so fast if you blink you lose it. E-mail subscribers get the private picture and more. Enter your name and e-mail to be a part of team Making Norway My Home.
So, my question is: Did you get motivated to move your body and get healthier?