Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s thrilling weekend on the track was capped with wins in the 1,500m and 3,000m at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China but by Tuesday he was testifying in a Norwegian court of claims of over a decade of abuse by his father Gjert.
During a session that lasted over four hours on Tuesday in a courtroom in Sandnes, Jakob, 24, revealed that his father allegedly physically and verbally abused him and his siblings over a 14-year period.
According to Jakob, he and his brothers Filip and Henrik decided in 2022 that after years of abuse they would split from their father as a coach and released a joint statement in the Norwegian newspaper VG in 2023 with claims of harsh treatment.
They said in the report that they reached a breaking point in 2022 when their sister Ingrid refused to go for a training run and was struck with a wet towel, which left a mark on her skin.
In his lengthy testimony on Tuesday, Jakob brought up specific instances when he said he faced physical and mental abuse and revealed that the incidents have taken a lasting emotional toll. He also claims that he was being hit as early as seven years old by his father, who he routinely referred to as “the defendant” during his testimony.
Jakob explained a particular moment when he was eight or nine years old when Gjert grew angry when his school called asking for his mother Tone. When Jakob could not answer why the school called, he said Gjert punched him repeatedly in the head.
“The defendant is standing over me and screaming at me that I’m a liar and I’m lying. For what feels like a very long time, before he starts hitting me in the head. I try to protect myself from violence, before he takes my hands and puts them down on my side, before he starts to continue hitting me in the head.”
Jakob made it clear in his statements to the court that his childhood was guided by fear and how his family appeared to outsiders was a stark contrast to what he and his six siblings experienced.
“As a child, I experienced that everyone else felt envious of what we did — what we stood for. And what we had,” he said “Not that there was anything wrong with that, but my upbringing was largely shaped by fear.”
Jakob later said that violent incidents became common, like being slapped for showing up late to a race in 2008 and testified about a previously published incident in 2009 when he was nine and was kicked in the stomach after falling off a scooter while playing.
“I remember trying to get up and lying on all fours, before I get a kick in the stomach which I remember was a strange experience,” he said.
By his recollection, the abuse he claims he endured occurred over a 14-year time frame and by 2018 he moved out of the family home when he was 18 and at an early point in his career when he showed signs of stardom.
On Wednesday, the focus of testimony against Gjert, 59, shifted to his daughter Ingrid, who is now 19, as she recalled specific instances of alleged abuse including when she was hit in the face for not bringing a heart rate monitor to a training session in 2018 or 2019.
Ingrid claims that during the incident, while she and her father were driving, she endured an onslaught of verbal abuse from Gjert, who called her “incompetent” as he screamed. She then said her own rebuttal was met with physical abuse.
“I clearly said, ‘shut up’, because it [the screaming] didn’t stop,” Ingrid said in her testimony. “When I said that, I got a hand in the face. He hit me in the face. It was fast and it was hard. It hurt.”
She noted that the conflicts with her father would continue and brought up another moment while driving when Gjert had been verbally aggressive, causing her to cry.
“He asked me if I was afraid of him. I think that was very difficult to answer,” Ingrid said. “I remember thinking: ‘what happens if I answer yes? What happens if I answer no?’ So I didn’t answer right away. Then I remember he asked again and again until I answered. Then I ended up answering yes.”
According to Ingrid, her father’s subsequent anger brought her to tears and he was firm on her being silent about the encounter.
“[He] didn’t drive home until I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone, especially not my mom, because he was afraid of what she would think.”
The charges that involve Ingrid make it clear and allege that Gjert was overt in using threats, coercion, violence, restricting her freedom of movement.”
And while her brothers routinely traveled for training camps and competitions, her siblings were not present to witness the encounters but Ingrid would tell Jakob during phone conversations.
“I know that this incident was just one of many that Ingrid had been through,” Jakob said. “Ingrid was 15 at the time, and I know she had been in difficult confrontations with the defendant before. The reality is that she’s a small girl in a physical confrontation with a grown, large man.”
For the brothers, the 2022 alleged incident when Ingrid was struck with a wet towel finally prompted them to speak out and led to a probe into the claims.
Following an investigation in 2023, Norwegian police filed charges against Gjert on charges specifically related to Jakob and Ingrid. He initially faced charges in April 2024, with additional claims added in October 2024 to include evidence of abuse of Jakob.
Shortly after Jakob won gold in the men’s 1,500m at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Gjert revealed that he would step down as a coach, sparking rumors of issues between him and his sons in 2022.
Gjert’s profile in the media soared beginning in 2016 after he appeared in the Team Ingebrigtsen television series which documented his role as a coach of Jakob, Filip and Henrik. The series aired on the Norwegian network NRK from 2016 to 2021 and was arranged by Gjert as a way to gain exposure — and sponsorship — for his sons.
The show would later become a major success on Norwegian television, catapulting the family in to the spotlight.
But in his testimony, Jakob was adamant that what viewers saw on screen was vastly different from the reality he and his siblings experienced.
“The problem we had with it is that it didn’t reflect reality,” Jakob said. “A lot changed when the camera crew was present. When they film, it is presented in a more humorous and cozy way.”
Gjert has denied the claims and faces a six year prison sentence if convicted of the seven abuse charges.
He is slated to testify in his own defense next week in a trial that is expected to last until May 16.
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