The father of Jakob Ingebrigtsen has been found guilty of hitting his younger sister with a wet towel but has been cleared of abusing Norway’s double Olympic champion.
Gjert Ingebrigtsen, 59, has been given a suspended 15-day prison sentence for whipping Ingebrigtsen’s sister, Ingrid, in the face with a towel but was acquitted of all other charges after a trial in Norway.
Gjert, who coached Jakob at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics before they split, had been accused of enforcing a regime of “physical and verbal abuse” during their upbringing.
Jakob, the 5000m Olympic champion and one of the biggest stars in track and field, told the court that he been a victim of domestic violence and said he had been punched and kicked by him.
The court found there was insufficient evidence and ruled there was insufficient evidence of Jakob’s claims, but found Gjert of hitting Ingrid, who is now 19, in the face with a towel in 2022.
Ingrid, who quit athletics and left the family home aged 15, was awarded compensation of 10,000 kroner (£745) after prosecutors had called for Gjert to be handed a two-and-a-half year sentence.
Gjert had denied all allegations of violence and abuse but accepted that he had been demanding in his coaching and admitted to once throwing a PlayStation out of a window.
Gjert’s intense training methods were the subject of the popular documentary Team Ingebrigtsen, which shone a light on the family’s almost cult-like obsession with sporting excellence, with the children put on strict professionalised training programmes at a young age.
Jakob’s older brothers, Henrik and Filip, are also professional athletes, and in October 2023, the trio published a joint letter in Norwegian outlet VG, spelling out the behaviour of their father.
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Jakob, 24, told the court about several incidents of violence. Prosecutors alleged Gjert struck Jakob several times after he received a negative report about his behaviour from school when he was eight. He was also accused of kicking Jakob in the stomach after he had been playing in the street on a scooter.
Gjert coached his three sons until 2022, helping Jakob to secure his first Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 in the 1500m as he forged a glittering career as one of the world’s leading athletes. After the split, Jakob added 5000m success at Paris 2024 along with a large collection of other global medals.
