Just five months after giving birth, four-time European cross country champion Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal will make her racing comeback at the World Road Running Championships on 19 and 20 September in Copenhagen.
Grøvdal, who gave birth to a baby girl on 9 May, returns in the half marathon, the distance in which she won gold at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships. It will be her first race since August 2025.
She will be joined in the Norwegian team by Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who made his own successful comeback this summer, winning European 5000m gold at Birmingham 2026 after 11 months on the sidelines with an Achilles injury.
He will race over 5km in the Danish capital. It means Ingebrigtsen will compete at the Diamond League Final in Brussels, World Ultimate Championships in Budapest and World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen on three consecutive weekends.
Other notable selections from European teams for Copenhagen include Sweden's new European 10,000m Champion Andreas Almgren in the men's half marathon; Italy’s European half marathon and 10,000m gold medallist Yemaneberhan Crippa in the men’s half marathon; Italy’s European 5000m bronze medallist Micol Majori in the women’s 5km; world 1500m champion Isaac Nader of Portugal in the men’s mile; European U23 10,000m champion Joel Ibler Lillesø of Denmark in the men’s 5km; and Great Britain’s former European 10,000m bronze medallist Megan Keith in the women’s 5km.