Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s father tells court: ‘Kicking one of my children is absolutely unthinkable’

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Gjert Ingebrigtsen, the father of double Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, told a court on Monday that he has never hit anyone and that the idea of “kicking one of my children is absolutely unthinkable”.

The 59-year-old, is standing trial on charges of abuse in close relationships against two of his seven children, Jakob and his younger sister Ingrid, who testified last week.

Gjert pleaded not guilty and has repeatedly denied all allegations and the portrayal of events.

In the district court of Sandnes, the hometown of the seven Ingebrigtsen children, Gjert started three days of testimony by presenting his “explanation” of events as a free statement, rather than answering questions from his defence team.

He directly addressed specific instances of alleged abuse from Jakob and Ingrid, denying four charges from the 24-year-old, Olympic 5,000m champion Jakob.

This included that Gjert kicked Jakob in summer 2009 when he fell off a scooter and was lying on the floor, also that Gjert hit him in the face in the car once when they were late to an athletics event, another time after Jakob’s school rang to discuss poor behaviour, and that he repeatedly verbally abused his son.

On the physical abuse charges, Gjert told the court: “I have never in my life hit another person, ever, and I have definitely never threatened to do so either. Kicking one of my children is absolutely unthinkable.” He said he was unable to recall these events and “nothing about (them) stands out to me”.

With regards to verbal abuse, he accepted, with “no doubt” that “there have been moments where things were said, in the heat of the moment, that shouldn’t have been said”, but he says insults and expressions have been mixed together and “presented as a daily routine of scolding. That is absolutely not the case”.

Gjert took responsibility for “wounds and scars” that had been created between himself and Jakob, and with elder brother Henrik (who he also used to coach). “There have been different opinions during discussions, but nothing physical,” he said, and that “since I never hit anyone, there would be no reason to threaten to do so”, as it would be “completely meaningless”.

Jakob, the middle child who was coached by Gjert when he won Olympic 1,500m gold in Tokyo in 2021, was described by his father as a “privileged boy his entire life. He has been able to do and say more or less whatever he wanted. We have practically carried him on a golden throne”.

Gjert told court he left the military early because he was “fundamentally against violence”, and that he refused to accept gifts or toys for his children that had violent connotations. For Gjert, the source of the “constant arguments” was the video games they played on the PlayStation, specifically Grand Theft Auto and Counter-Strike as “games that contained elements of violence”.

“After repeatedly making it clear that I did not want these games in our home and seeing no respect for my wishes, one day, a PlayStation went flying out the window and crashed onto the asphalt in our driveway,” he recalled.

A courtroom sketch of Gjert (Ane Hem/NTB/AFP via Getty Images)

There was more consistency in how Gjert recalled events of early 2022, when he is alleged to have hit Ingrid — the second-youngest sibling and only daughter — in the face with a towel, which led to the three professional running brothers (Henrik, Filip and Jakob) splitting with him as their coach.

Ingrid had quit athletics at this point, and Gjert said they were leaving the gym together. Ingrid told her father she was going to visit a friend and he responded that she was not allowed. “I explained that it was due to COVID, and we were going to visit the boys on Friday, so she couldn’t go visit people she normally doesn’t spend time with.”

“The temperature and volume increased significantly,” he continued, and reacted after Ingrid said” “‘I don’t want to be in this damn prison of yours anymore’,” while holding up her middle finger”.

He used “the towel to tap her finger twice in succession,” he told court. When asked if he is sure Ingrid was only hit on her finger, Gjert said “given the distance, nothing else was possible”.

“It quickly became clear to me that my reaction was excessive, and not at all how I intend to behave,” he recounted.

There is a photo from that day which shows a red mark on Ingrid’s face that she says is from Gjert hitting her. He said the mark was a skin condition which some of his other children, including Jakob, have.

Gjert said, as he was holding the towel in his right hand and the mark was on Ingrid’s right cheek, “it would be practically difficult for me to hit her as the picture shows”.

He also testified that there was an argument in the car when he was driving Ingrid to go for a run, and she forgot her heart-rate monitor, which is the first time she alleges he to physically abused her. “It was more of a discussion or an argument — but not with a hit,” he said.

“When she, by her own account, screamed ‘shut up,’ there may have been a reaction from me,” Gjert said. Despite not being able to “remember specifically, I am quite certain that there was some reaction to being spoken to in that way. But not a hit”.

Gjert says he has only seen Ingrid once since in a meeting with his psychologist. “I deeply apologise for not being able to see her needs and adjust my approach to her based on what she needed.”

Jakob won the 1,500-meter gold last weekend at World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

He was moved to tears more than once while speaking about the lack of relationship he now has with his daughter.

Gjert accepts there was one incident, when, in his words, Ingrid “slammed the sliding door (to the bedroom of Gjert and Tone, the mother of the Ingebrigtsen siblings) so hard that it wobbled back and forth between the walls.”

Gjert had gone to bed after emailing Ingrid a training programme. He said he “didn’t want to discuss it now…she kept talking to me, her tone getting more heated”.

After asking her to leave and more time passing, Gjert says he “pushed her in the chest, such that she had to take a step back to regain balance. She started crying. I went to her room and said that I had overreacted”.

He will testify, with questions from the defence lawyers and cross-examination from the prosecution, for the next two days.

If found guilty, the maximum prison sentence is six years, there may be a restraining order, and the Norwegian Athletics Federation may bring separate punishment.

The trial continues.

(Top photo: CARINA JOHANSEN/NTB/AFP via Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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