In a post on Andreas Almgren's Instagram account from November, you can see how he tries to keep up with Jakob Ingebrigtsen up a hill in the Spanish mountain range Sierra Nevada.
He appears to be doing well, but admits that it's far from easy to spar with the Norwegian, who has collected VM, OS, and EM gold medals on 1,500 and 5,000 meters at a high level.
You can see why he's the best in the world. He's faster than me, he's better on the middle distances, and has better endurance. He's one or two levels better in all aspects, so you have to be a bit careful when training with him, says Almgren.
Criticized for final tactics
Training with the Ingebrigtsen brothers – besides Jakob, also Henrik and Filip – seems to have yielded results, however.
Ahead of this year's first race, 10 kilometers on the road in Valencia on Sunday, Andreas Almgren feels in better shape than a year ago. Then, he set a Swedish record (27.20) in the same competition.
But the training has been painful, and not just in his legs.
The Norwegian running trio has taken the opportunity to rub salt in the wounds of their Swedish rival, constantly reminding him of last year's major defeat: the EM final on 10,000 meters. There, Almgren lost the lead on the final lap after starting his sprint with 300 meters left.
Yes, all the brothers were on my case a lot in Sierra Nevada. But it's fun anyway, says Almgren, who finished fourth in the final.
The most fun was when Jakob and I ran "400-meter laps" and when it was time for the final intervals, he just said "remember to start your sprint there", and then pointed to the 100-meter mark.
Last season ended disappointingly with the EM miss and then a cancelled OS in Paris due to injury.
The first half of 2024 was, however, sensational, and Almgren set Swedish records on 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, 10 kilometers road, and half-marathon.
European record within reach?
This year's big goal is the VM in Tokyo in September.
But first, he will try to improve his own Swedish record on 10 km road, and maybe even the Frenchman Etienne Daguino's European record of 27.04.
It's still 16-17 seconds away, so it's a good bit. A month ago, I would have definitely said I'm going for it. But then I caught a cold after the cross-country EM in December, so we'll see, says Almgren.
I should at least be as good as I was last year. But hopefully, I'll be able to be better.
Born: June 12, 1995 (29 years old) in Sollentuna.
Club: Tureberg.
Almgren's Swedish records: 3:32.00 on 1,500 meters, 7:34.28 on 3,000 m, 12:50.94 on 5,000 m, 26:52.87 on 10,000 m, 27.20 on 10 km road, 59:23 on half-marathon (all outdoors). 7:34.31 on 3,000 m (indoors).
Current: Makes his season debut on Sunday in a 10-kilometer road race in Valencia.
