Jakob Ingebrigtsen has chosen to miss the 2025 SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa, Portugal on 14 December.
Ingebrigtsen, who won his third senior title in Antalya last year, was named on the initial Norwegian team for Lagoa on 25 November but the 25-year-old has opted to skip the championships to prioritise the 2026 season.
"Jakob has had a very good training period at altitude in recent weeks and has decided to skip the European Cross Country Championships in order to focus fully on the 2026 season. We support the decision and look forward to the upcoming season," said Norwegian Athletics Association sports director Erlend Slokvik as quoted by NRK.
With Ingebrigtsen absent, the senior men’s team will be helmed by 2023 European cross country champion Magnus Tuv Myhre and his older brother Filip, the gold medallist in the senior race at the 2018 SPAR European Cross County Championships.