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The father of the double Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen has been found guilty of hitting the Norwegian runner’s younger sister, Ingrid, with a wet towel, and handed a 15-day suspended sentence.
However, Gjert Ingebrigtsen, who coached his Jakob to 1500m gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 before an acrimonious split a year later, was acquitted of the same charges against Jakob after a court in Norway found there was “reasonable doubt” about the accusations.
Ingrid, who left the family home aged 15 after a series of incidents, was also awarded compensation of 10,000 kroner (£744) by the court.
The verdict marks another extraordinary episode in the life of the family that became huge reality TV stars in Norway after the docu-series The Ingebrigtsens, which charted their lives and eccentric nature, became a phenomenon.
Prosecutors had called for Gjert to be jailed for two and a half years for what they told the court in the town of Sagnes was a “regime of physical and verbal abuse” towards Jakob and his younger sister, Ingrid, which spanned a decade. It followed testimony from Jakob, who said that he had been a victim of domestic violence at the hands of his father, who had punched and kicked him as well as “controlled” him.
Early in the six-week trial, Jakob alleged that when he was eight his father had punched him in the head “many times” after receiving a negative report about his behaviour from school. Jakob claimed that in another incident around the same time, he had been playing in the street on a scooter when his father jumped on him and kicked him in the stomach.
The court also heard that Gjert had used threats, coercion and violence against Jakon’s younger sister, Ingrid, including “whipping” her in the face with a wet towel in 2022 after he had refused to let her play outside with friends.
In court Gjert accepted that he had sometimes been demanding while coaching his three sons, Jakob, Henrik and Filip, to major international titles. The 59-year-old also acknowledged that he had once thrown the family PlayStation out of a second floor window after a row. However, he denied all allegations of abuse and broke down in tears as he told the court that he had never hit anyone in his life.
He also admitted his regret at falling out with Ingrid, who left the family home at 15 after the towel incident. “I miss her every day,” Gjert said. “She is the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night, and the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning. The loss is extreme.”
