Jakob Ingebrigtsen won both the 1500m and the 5km in his hometown of Sandnes as he and brothers Henrik and Filip launched their new Runfest Norway festival on October 2-3.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen completed a home double at the inaugural Runfest Norway in Sandnes, winning the 1500m on the Friday and the 5km the following day, as the Olympic, world and European champion co-hosted the new festival with brothers Henrik and Filip.

In Friday's 1500m, Ingebrigtsen ran from behind pacemaker Žan Rudolf before making his decisive move with around a minute remaining, crossing the line in 3:40.7. Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen, Norway's former world under-20 3000m champion, was second in 3:43.3, with Sigurd Tveit third in 3:47.8 as Norwegian athletes swept the top six places.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jakob A. Ingebrigtsen (@jakobing)

Ingebrigtsen backed that up in Saturday's 5km, sitting off the pace early before taking the lead with around 300m remaining to win in 13:26. Halvorsen was again runner-up, two seconds back, with Ethiopia's Abdreselam Worku third in 13:29, ahead of Rudolf and Germany's David Scheller.

The wins came after Ingebrigtsen took 5km silver at the World Championships in Copenhagen and 5000m gold at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest.

The three-day festival, which also included a health conference and school activities earlier in the week, attracted 2540 registered runners across four distances – 266 in the 1500m, 711 in the 5km, 838 in the 10km and 822 in the half marathon.

Prize money of up to €1,600 for the winner helped draw elite fields including Ethiopian 3000m steeplechase world record-holder Lamecha Girma and a strong Kenyan contingent, with both evenings' elite races broadcast live on NRK. Ethiopia's Biniyam Melak won the 10km in 27:29.

"The world's best runners are part of the circus, but everyone can participate," Ingebrigtsen said of the festival, which he and his brothers created as what he called "a celebration of running joy."