Ingebrigtsen caps comeback with Ultimate 5,000m victory, Duplantis wins pole vault title

BUDAPEST, Sept 11 : Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen marked his comeback from Achilles surgery in emphatic fashion on Friday, powering to victory in the men's 5,000 metres at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship and securing the $150,000 top prize.

Opening day featured two of the sport's biggest stars as Mondo Duplantis brought the curtain down by adding another pole vault title to his illustrious resume, narrowly missing at a world record attempt.

Olympic champion Ingebrigtsen clocked a season's best 12 minutes 59.24 seconds, producing the trademark late kick that has become his calling card by moving from the back of the field over the closing laps before sweeping past his rivals with 100 metres remaining.

A day after writing on Instagram that "a couple of months ago it looked unlikely I'd have a season at all", the Norwegian underlined his return to full fitness with another clinical display.

"This is amazing. Not many weeks ago I was telling my team that the 2026 season is far gone but then it started to get a little bit better," said Ingebrigtsen, who won the European title last month. "There was a lot of hope and eventually I got my momentum going."

The 25-year-old crossed the line, casually stopped the time on his watch, and wagged one finger at the crowd in celebration after holding off Olympic 1,500m champion Cole Hocker, who finished second in 13:00.05, while American teammate Parker Wolfe took third in 13:00.13.

For much of the race Ingebrigtsen bided his time at the back of the pack, content to let others dictate the pace before methodically working his way forward over the final two laps and unleashing a devastating finishing burst when it mattered most to win by 10 metres.

"I have gained a lot from the