The father of Jakob Ingebrigtsen will stand trial next year on charges that he allegedly physically abused two of his children, the lawyers for Gjert Ingebrigtsen revealed on Friday.
Gjert Ingebrigtsen, 58, faced abuse claims earlier this year that involved one of his children, believed to be daughter Ingrid, but according to a report by Norwegian newspaper VG, the upgraded charges include allegations that Jakob was also harmed by his father over a ten year period.
Norwegian prosecutors have already asked for a 30-day trial and their investigation has produced near 40 witnesses.
“Gjert Ingebrigtsen maintains what he has said all along, that he does not admit criminal guilt for the offenses he has been charged with and that he has never subjected any of his children to either physical or mental abuse,” John Christian Elden and Heidi Reisvang, Gjert’s lawyers, said in a statement on Friday.
Jakob, 24, and his older brothers Filip and Henrik were all coached by their father and in October 2023, they released a joint report in VG that accused their father of abuse throughout their childhood.
“We have grown up with a father who has been very aggressive and controlling and who has used physical violence and threats as part of his upbringing,” the brothers said in their statement. “We still feel discomfort and fear which has been in us since childhood.
“When we broke up with Gjert, we thought we would be able to handle the situation in an orderly manner, without mentioning the underlying circumstances,” the brothers also said in the report. “We now realize that is not possible. The pressure we have felt has been inhumane at times. We run out of energy and the joy of playing sports is gone.”
Gjert denied the published allegations from his sons at the time.
In 2022 Gjert announced in 2022 he was taking a break from coaching Jakob, fueling rumors of issues in the Ingebrigtsen family. That was shortly after Jakob won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 in the 1,500m. He relied on coaching himself and took gold in the 5,000m at the Paris Games.
Meanwhile, the extent of Jakob’s claims against Gjert have become Norwegian media have come into focus leading up to the latest charges and public prosecutors’ push for a trial. Jakob has alleged that his father was mentally and physically abusive during a ten year period fromm 2008 to 2018, and that included “punching and kicking.”
Other claims in the report from VG, detail specific incidents of abuse Jakob allegedly endured, including being slapped for being late for a race in 2008 and he was kicked in the stomach after falling off a scooter in 2009. By 2018, Jakob, who has six other siblings, moved out of his family’s home when he was 18.
