Entering June 1925, the New York Yankees weren’t having any specific issues with their starting first baseman, Wally Pipp. However, the team was on a bit of a losing streak and looking for some new energy in the lineup. So when Pipp entered the clubhouse one morning with a headache, he was told to pop some aspirin and take the day off.

That created an opportunity for a 21-year-old Lou Gehrig to get some playing time. He entered the lineup and promptly delivered three hits that day. For the next 14 seasons, across 2,130 games that starting first baseman position would be his.

After a solid five years dominating on the track and the conversation off of it, an unfortunate Achilles injury threatened to replace Jakob Ingebrigtsen. But any concern fans may have had in his absence since the 2025 World Indoor Championships have been put to rest—he will not be the next Wally Pipp!

Still only 25 years old, Ingebrigtsen’s resume spills well beyond the standard single page. The one event he has consistently shown up at throughout his career is the European Championships—he’s won 22 senior gold medals across cross country, indoors, and outdoors. It was therefore an appropriate stage to make his return, albeit with an element of mystery that made this far more intriguing than his usual presumptive victories.

Last week, his workout of 6 x 1k from 2:39 to 2:25, plus 5 x 300m in 42, made headlines. That wouldn’t necessarily indicate world record fitness, but it would signal that he’d be competitive. Through the first half of the race, as the leaders clicked off 64-65 second laps, Ingebrigtsen’s competitiveness came into question, however, as he sat towards the very back looking uncomfortable. While this is something he has often done, given the context of the last 505 days, it wasn’t accompanied by the same air of confidence.

Then, as the real racing started when Jimmy Gressier, Florian Bremm, Dominic Lobalu, and other contenders made their way to the front. Ingebrigtsen went wide and plopped himself in the thick of it. Afterwards he would say that with 600m to go that he felt confident that he could win, and a decisive 54.79 last lap to run 13:15.29 confirmed that premonition.

At a global championship when national uniforms are on, we tend to cheer for athletes who represent where we live or are from. But as Americans watching the European Championships, we possess no such loyalty… we have freedom (to cheer as we please)!

Since 2023, Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr have traded barbs both on the track and in the media. Anyone following along would agree that the rivalry sparked further intrigue and was overall considered good for the sport. With Ingebrigtsen’s brief absence—which coincided with his Scottish rival nabbing the historic mile world record and a shrewd last lap to run away from the field at Commonwealths—Kerr was filling the void. Jakob-heads who previously would have rooted against his arch nemesis were reluctantly admitting, “that was actually pretty cool” and “you know what, that did give me chills.”

When the Yankees aren’t playing, Bronx natives don’t become Red Sox fans. But our sport isn’t baseball. Track and field’s allegiances are malleable and that’s what makes it unique. It’s possible to both appreciate an athlete’s greatness and cheer them onto records in one race, then turn around to celebrate their defeat in the next by an underdog. And it flip-flops, with the roles of David and Goliath alternating in each passing season.

At some point between the Tokyo Olympics until the Achilles injury, Ingebrigtsen winning became the expectation and the standard, especially in rabbited races. While it’s patently clear that his favorite event is the 1500m, between Worlds in 2019 and Worlds in 2025, he did not lose a single 5000m. On the rare occasion that he did lose and show signs of being fallible, it was exciting because it was different. But this comeback reset everything—it was a return to relatability and the experience took on an oddly nostalgic hue. It was a feeling we haven’t felt in a while, like a smell that brings you back to childhood.

As Ingebrigtsen ran down the home straightaway and well past the finish line in Birmingham, it felt like he was charging past Timothy Cheruiyot for the first time, again. Just like that first Olympic final in 2021, the desire to cheer for the Norwegian aligned with the desire to see an underdog on top. Oh, how we missed those moments.

As he enters what feels like a new chapter in his career, Ingebrigtsen once again looks more like a Gehrig—the epitome of consistency and longevity—than a Pipp. The sporting world hasn’t left him behind, and with something like a decade of prime racing still to come, it’s easy to imagine he’ll one day be thought of as the Iron Horse of track and field.

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