Domestic violence
Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen is said to have been abused by his father for a long time
Jakob Ingebrigtsen and his brothers trained under their father Gjert for years. Now the top track and field athletes are making serious allegations. It’s about violence and death threats.
Track and field athlete Jakob Ingebrigtsen has won Olympic gold twice for Norway. In his homeland, he and his older brothers Henrik and Filip are considered sensational middle-distance runners. They were all trained by their father, Gjert, for years. Now Jakob Ingebrigtsen is said to have made serious allegations against him. His father is said to have physically abused him over a period of ten years, as the Norwegian newspaper “Verdens Gang” (VG) reports.
Gjert Ingebrigtsen allegedly hit, kicked and even threatened his son with death. “The charges are very serious. They relate to violence over ten years, since he was a little schoolboy,” Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s lawyer, Mette Yvonne Larsen, told the newspaper VG. Gjert Ingebrigtsen has to answer in court for, among other things, threats and mistreatment.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s brothers describe father as “very aggressive and controlling”
The public prosecutor’s office had already brought charges against Gjert Ingebrigtsen in April for violence against a family member. As Larsen has now announced, her client’s allegations should also be part of the indictment. According to the “VG”, the court case is expected next year.
Father Gjert resigned as coach of his three sons in 2022 – officially for health reasons. Initially nothing was publicly known about the exact background. A year later, Henrik and Filip Ingebrigtsen made serious allegations of violence against their father in a public statement in the newspaper “VG”. “We grew up with a father who was very aggressive and controlling and used physical violence and threats as part of his upbringing,” the brothers said. “We still feel discomfort and fear that have accompanied us since childhood.”
Gjert Ingebrigtsen comments on allegations of violence
In 2022 they separated from their father – but not just as coaches, as they told “VG”: “Two years ago we had enough. From that moment on we decided to break with our father. Then it became impossible for us too “To continue with him as coach.”
Gjert Ingebrigtsen commented on the allegations through his lawyer. “I never used violence against my children. The fact that I had weaknesses as a father and was too much of a coach is a realization that I also came to – albeit much too late.”
Sources: “Welt”, “Bild”, “T-Online”.
