Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s father convicted of abusing daughter
The father and former trainer of double Olympic champion distance runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen has been convicted of hitting the Norwegian star’s younger sister.
Gjert Ingebrigtsen, 59, was cleared of abusing his famous son, who he coached until 2022, after a court in Norway found there was insufficient evidence to support the allegation.
But he was found guilty of hitting Ingrid Ingebrigtsen, now 19, in the face with a wet towel three years ago, for which he was given a 15-day suspended prison sentence and a fine of 10,000 Norwegian Kroner (£745).
The trial has been a national spectacle in Norway due to Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s success and the high profile of the family, who appeared in a reality TV show.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen, 24, won 1,500m gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 before splitting from his father a year later. He failed to defend his title in Paris last year but won the 5,000m.
Gjert Ingebrigtsen avoids two-year sentence
Prosecutors had called for Gjert Ingebrigtsen to be jailed for two and a half years for what they alleged was a decade-long “regime of physical and verbal abuse” towards Jakob and Ingrid
During the six-week trial Jakob Ingebrigtsen told the court that his father had punched and kicked him, including when he was just eight years old.
Ingrid Ingebrigtsen left home at 15 after the towel-whipping incident, which had followed an argument about not being allowed out to see her friends.
Gjert Ingebrigtsen admitted being demanding while coaching Jakob and his brothers Henrik and Filip to international titles, including that he had once thrown a PlayStation out of a second floor window after a row.
But he denied ever being abusive towards his children and spoke of feeling “extreme loss” at the separation from his daughter.
“I miss her every day,” he said. “She is the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night, and the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning.”