Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s Father Faces Trial for Alleged Abuse

Jakob Ingebrigtsen the Olympic champion will see his father and former coach Gjert Ingebrigtsen, stand trial next year on charges of physical and mental abuse. Jakob along with his brothers Filip and Henrik, all Olympic athletes, publicly accused their father of violent behavior in 2023. Gjert, who coached his sons until 2022 denies the charges and insists he never subjected them to abuse.

The charges stem from the claims the Ingebrigtsen brothers made in a Norwegian newspaper column where they described their father as aggressive and controlling. They revealed that they still feel discomfort and fear due to their father’s behavior. In response, Gjert denied the accusations, called them “baseless,” and stated that he never used violence against his children.

Norwegian police initially charged Gjert with physical abuse in April 2024, but they dropped five cases due to insufficient evidence and dismissed one case because of time constraints. Mette Yvonne Larsen, the lawyer representing five of the Ingebrigtsen children, confirmed that they would appeal the dismissed cases.

On November 29, the court indicted Gjert for both physical and mental abuse with the trial scheduled to take place in the first half of 2025. Jakob Ingebrigtsen, 24, is a two-time world 5,000m champion and Olympic gold medalist in the 1500m. His brothers Henrik and Filip have also achieved success with Henrik winning the European 1500m title in 2012 and Filip in 2016.

The Norwegian public prosecutor’s office confirmed that the legal proceedings will take place in 2025 with at least 30 days set aside for the trial. Gjert’s lawyers maintain his innocence and deny the allegations of abuse.