Gjert Ingebrigtsen, the father of Olympic 1,500m champion and Norwegian middle-distance running superstar Jakob Ingebrigtsen, has been charged with the physical abuse of one of his younger children, according to reports in Norway.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen and two of his older brothers, Filip and Henrik, went public with historical claims of physical violence and abusive behaviour from their father and former coach last year – allegations Gjert strenuously denied and described as “baseless”.
The brothers accused Gjert of using “physical violence and threats” as part of their upbringing and filed a complaint with the police after their coaching relationship broke down the previous year.
According to Norwegian outlet VG, the publication which detailed Jakob’s allegations in an interview last year, Gjert has been charged with beating one of his younger children – not thought to one of the three running stars, Jakob, Filip and Henrik – with a wet towel following an investigation from the public prosecutor’s office.
According to VG, the incident took place in January 2022 and led to the split between Jakob, Filip and Henrik and their father. Gjert coached Jakob to the 1,500m gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, while Filip and Henrik are European champions. The family were also stars of reality TV show Team Ingebrigtsen, which was one of the most popular TV shows in Norway and followed their success on the international stage.
The public prosecutor’s office said it has dropped five other allegations due to the status of the evidence while another was considered out of date. The 58-year-old Gjert, who has seven children in total, insisted last year that he had “never used violence against his children.
Police inspector Terese Braut Vage said there was sufficient evidence to open a criminal case, telling VG: “We have carried out several preliminary investigations, and the information that has come to light has meant that we have now opened a criminal case.
“A case has been opened under section 282 of the Criminal Code — abuse in close relationships. This means that we are now in an investigation phase, where the purpose of the investigation is to uncover whether there are criminal circumstances.
“I would like to emphasise that investigations into cases concerning abuse in close relationships are cases which, by their nature, require a thorough investigation over some time.”
