Dawit Seare stuns Jakob Ingebrigtsen for 5km

Dawit Seare of Eritrea delivered one of 2026's biggest distance running shocks by catching and passing Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the final metres to win the men's 5km at the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen. The 21-year-old African 5000m champion clocked a national record of 12:56, while Norway's Ingebrigtsen took silver in a Norwegian record of 12:59.

A dramatic final kilometre

The race began after a ten-minute delay and proceeded without official pacemakers. France's Flavien Szot led aggressively from the start before stopping at the 2km mark. His teammate Jimmy Gressier then took over at the front. A lead pack of ten runners remained intact through 3km.

The decisive move came from Ethiopia's Mezgebu Sime, who surged with one kilometre remaining. Only Seare could match his acceleration. Ingebrigtsen initially missed the break but closed the gap swiftly. Seare then passed Sime to take the lead entering the final stretch.

Ingebrigtsen hunted him down. He drew level with roughly 200 metres to go and seemed poised to cruise to victory. Seare responded ferociously. He fought back to repass the Norwegian in the closing metres, pointing to the sky in celebration before the line. According to Athletics Weekly, his teammate Saymon Amanuel secured bronze for Eritrea.

Breakthrough victory for Seare

"I am very, very happy because I have been preparing very well for the last two months for this championships," Seare said. He acknowledged the challenge. "I know Jakob is a very strong athlete." The Eritrean indicated he would now move his focus to competing in the United States.

For Ingebrigtsen, the silver medal marked a continued successful return from Achilles surgery in February. He had won the European 5000m title in August and the Ultimate 5000m crown in Budapest the week before Copenhagen. He admitted his tactics were slightly off. I thought I had to fight with all I had and I think that I was a little bit too early going into the sprint, Ingebrigtsen said. He felt the race was extremely fast from the start.

Notable performances behind the podium

Ireland's Darragh McElhinney set an Irish record of 13:22 for 16th place. Britain's David Mullarkey finished 21st in a personal best of 13:31. A notable run came from Aron Gebremariam. The 20-year-old, who left Eritrea as a refugee and is based in Birmingham with Birchfield Harriers, represented the Athlete Refugee Team and placed 26th in 13:36.

Amebaw completes quick double

In the women's race, Ethiopia's Likina Amebaw completed a quick turnaround from her Ultimate 5000m victory in Budapest. She pushed the pace early and broke up the field before the second kilometre. Kenya's Caroline Makandi Gitonga mounted a challenge in the middle stages, but Amebaw pulled away again with about a kilometre left.

Amebaw won in 14:41. Gitonga took silver in 14:48. Australia's double Commonwealth champion Rose Davies closed strongly for bronze in an area record of 14:50. It was a very good race, and I'm really happy about my race, Amebaw said. She noted the shift from track to road was not difficult as she had been training for both.

Britain's Hannah Nuttall finished tenth in a personal best of 15:08, overtaking teammate Megan Keith (15th in 15:19) late in the race.