Latest news with #Gjert
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jakob Ingebrigtsen admits ‘embarrassment' at being a victim of domestic violence
Jakob Ingebrigtsen admitted he is 'embarrassed' to be a victim of domestic violence as he delivered a powerful testimony on the final day of his father's criminal trial. Norwegian prosecutors this week called for Ingebrigtsen's father Gjert, 59, to be sentenced to two and a half years in prison for the alleged physical and verbal assault of Jakob and his younger sister Ingrid. Gjert coached the double Olympic champion to the top of the podium in the 1,500m at the Tokyo Olympics. He also claimed gold in the 5,000m at Paris 2024, beating Briton Josh Kerr at the line. Jakob described several incidents of violence at the beginning of the six-week trial - one of which alleged Gjert to have struck his son several times after receiving a negative report about his behaviour from school when he was eight. Gjert's legal team questioned these claims in closing, calling for their client's acquittal. However, Jakob took to the stand to reiterate that he was telling the truth. 'It is embarrassing to be a victim of domestic violence,' he said. 'I know what I have experienced with the defendant since I was a little boy, and I have had no motives for lying. 'It is embarrassing to be a victim for our family, and it does not fit into the image you have of yourself and your family. We will all carry baggage with us from this trial.' With trial proceedings having concluded, judge Arild Dommersnes said he expects to announce a verdict on June 16.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Court urged to jail Jakob Ingebrigtsen's father for ‘regime of repeated abuse'
The father of the Norwegian track and field superstar Jakob Ingebrigtsen should go to prison for two and a half years for 'a regime of repeated abuse' that spanned a decade, prosecutors have told a court in Norway. Summing up the state's case, the prosecutor Angjerd Kvernenes said that Jakob and his sister, Ingrid, had suffered physical and mental abuse at the hands of their father and former coach, Gjert, which began when Jakob was seven years old. In her closing arguments, Kvernenes reminded the court that Jakob, who won the Olympic 1500m title in Tokyo before winning 5,000 gold in Paris, had described how he had been punched and kicked by his father when he was still at primary school. 'Jakob has explained about fear, about unpredictability, and about how the repeated blows to his head when he was seven and a half years old have affected him further in his upbringing,' she said. 'The extent has been so great that Jakob has lived under a regime of repeated abuse over time. It has affected him. He has been affected by this continuous insecurity, fear of violence and fear of other offences.' Kvernenes pointed out that on another occasion Jakob said he had been threatened with being dragged out of a car and beaten to death unless he agreed with Gjert. 'There is no doubt that there was a culture of fear in the home as early as January 2008 when Jakob was seven years old and Ingrid was one and a half years old,' she added. 'The starting point in these cases is unconditional imprisonment.' According to the indictment, Gjert is also alleged to have used threats, coercion and violence against his 18-year-old daughter, Ingrid, including 'whipping' her in the face with a wet towel in 2022 after he had refused to let her play outside with friends. Kvernenes reminded the court that Ingrid has also alleged that Gjert had also made her cry by screaming at her while they were in a car together – and then refused to return home until she promised not to tell anyone about the incident. She said there was 'no doubt' that Gjert had also used abusive language towards his daughter and poked her on the chest and upper arm on several occasions. Gjert denies all the charges. Speaking outside court on Tuesday his attorney Heidi Reisvang said the defence would call for an acquittal when they make their closing arguments on Wednesday. 'We believe that the sentence imposed in this case is far too high,' she told the Norwegian newspaper VG. 'We believe this should not have been a case for the court in the first place. 'We have heard an extremely large number of witnesses. We cannot see that there have been any witnesses who have substantiated from the outside that there has been fear among the children, something the court must find evidence of in order to convict for a so-called regime of abuse.' The case is due to finish on Thursday, with the verdict expected at some point later in the summer.
New York Times
02-04-2025
- New York Times
Jakob Ingebrigtsen's father says he was ‘not kind' as a coach and claims court documents were leaked to media
Gjert Ingebrigtsen, the father and former coach of Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, says he 'was not necessarily a kind man' as a coach and claimed that court documents were leaked to the media ahead of his appearance in court. On Wednesday, the 59-year-old finished three days of testimony for charges of abuse in close relationships against two of his seven children. Gjert was indicted on abuse charges against middle child Jakob and his younger sister, Ingrid, and was alleged to have hit the latter with a towel in early 2022. Advertisement He denied all allegations and pleaded not guilty at the start of the trial, which is taking place in Sandnes, Norway, the birthplace of the seven Ingebrigtsen siblings. If found guilty, the maximum prison sentence is six years, a restraining order may be implemented, and the Norwegian Athletics Federation can bring a separate punishment. The Athletic reported from the trial earlier this week that Gjert had no recollection of the events surrounding the instances of abuse that Jakob alleged. On three instances regarding Ingrid, he recalled the incident but disagreed with the portrayal of events. This included him pushing his daughter after she slammed a door during a disagreement — Gjert says 'she had to take a step back to regain balance', while Ingrid says she was pushed to the floor. Gjert denied Ingrid's assertion last week that he shouted at her and 'threw his hand in my face' after she had forgotten her heart-rate monitor. He insisted it was 'a discussion or an argument about a clear and defined responsibility (for bringing the monitor). What that (his) reaction consisted of is hard to say, but it was definitely not a hit'. Of the towel incident in 2022, he said he only hit Ingrid's finger, not her face as she alleges. The prosecution pointed out that in the police interrogation, Gjert's story changed between the number of times the towel hit her (between once and twice) and if he hit her at all (from not hitting her to the finger). That incident caused Jakob, as well as elder brothers Henrik and Filip — professional middle-distance runners themselves, with all three once the European 1,500m champion — to split with Gjert as their coach. Gjert elaborated that the popularity of the family — through sporting success and the Team Ingebrigtsen behind-the-scenes docuseries, which ran from 2016 to 2021 and was broadcast on national Norwegian television — meant he was not, in his opinion, given the necessary presumption of innocence. Advertisement He claimed to be able to document 'deliberate leaks' of court documents and interrogations from the police and the prosecution to the media. Gjert also said it was 'never an option' for the Norwegian Athletics Federation to 'remain neutral' given the importance of Jakob's success. Norway are relatively unique in being a nation with more winter than summer Olympic medals. In the delayed 2021 Tokyo Games, Jakob was the first Norwegian Olympic champion over 1,500m and also the first from his country to win 5,000m gold, which he achieved last summer in Paris. Gjert says the pressure put on Jakob to win in 2021 diffused onto him. 'He (Jakob) decided that if he doesn't win the Olympics, his life is pretty much a failure. He makes sure to remind me of that all the time,' Gjert testified. Gjert spoke of a breakdown after he won 1,500m gold, after which Jakob had a 'changed attitude' and they began to drift apart, with 'conflict' starting between the teenager and older brother Henrik. Gjert also testified about an issue at the 2023 Bislett Games, the most prestigious track and field event that is held in Norway, when an athlete he was still coaching, middle-distance runner Narve Gilje Nordas, had ran a breakthrough race five days prior and wanted to be in the stacked 1,500m event in Oslo. Gjert felt that efforts to exclude Nordas from the race were because of the fractured relationship between him and Jakob, whom he had split from for more than a year at that point. 'They had to let him in because he was running too fast to ignore,' Gjert recalled, adding that Jakob was 'very obviously against Narve running the 1,500m… a backroom deal was made, a large sum of money to race a different distance, but he declined'. Jakob, who won that race in a 3:27.95 European record (Nordas finished ninth but ran a PB), denied those claims in court. Three months later, when Jakob was marrying childhood sweetheart Elisabeth, Gjert says he was not invited because of the events surrounding the Bislett Games — which Jakob also denied, saying Gjert was never invited, whereas his father claims he had an invite on the condition he cut ties with Nordas. Advertisement Gjert also claimed that Jakob threatened Tone, his mother and Gjert's wife, that she had to divorce him or she would be estranged from her children and grandchildren. In October 2023, Jakob, Filip and Henrik released their statement as an op-ed in Norwegian newspaper VG, where they alleged abuse from Gjert. He called it a 'bomb' and that 'we had never heard anything remotely resembling what was written in that article'. He chose not to speak publicly on the charges at any point — Gjert's denial of the October 2023 allegations came in a statement from his lawyers — because he 'did not want to contribute to turning this into a bigger circus than necessary'. Gjert accepts that he became too invested as their coach and was not enough of a father, particularly as 'the coach was not necessarily a kind man. The way I communicated in my job as a coach was not always appropriate, (it) eventually became extreme (and) spread into our lives, which should have been a different arena'. At the start of the three days of testimony, in his 'free statement', he cited his childhood experiences — being raised in the north of the country where communication is more 'direct', being abused himself aged 10, and without male role models when his dad died aged four — as explanations for his shortcomings. In 2020, a point when he says he was suicidal, Gjert said that he tipped too far and 'built my world around the role of a coach rather than the role of a father. That was foolish, but I couldn't stop myself, and no one else stopped it either'. He told the court that it was then that Henrik moved back in and conflict between the two became more frequent: 'I should have stopped it. Instead, I quit my job, sold off things, and thought I would remain in this role for the rest of my life, or at least for a long time.' Gjert estimated that he and wife Tone spent 15 million Norwegian kroner (£1.1m; $1.4m) on their children's athletics careers and that the financial fallout from the past two years has been significant. Tone sold her hair salons in 2022, one year after they 'took on enormous financial commitments by investing in our existing home and purchasing a vacation house in Spain,' Gjert told the court. He says they have had to sell off assets, with their income 'reduced by 80 per cent. It is difficult to say how long this will remain viable'. Advertisement On Thursday, eldest child Kristoffer will testify. He also brought abuse charges against Gjert, which were investigated by police but dropped as they were time-barred. Kristoffer is the first of more than 30 witnesses — including Tone, Nordas, and other siblings — who will take the stand between now and mid-May when the trial is set to conclude.
The Guardian
01-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Ingebrigtsen's father accused sons of ‘perfect character assassination', court told
The father of the double Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen accused his sons of a 'perfect character assassination' on a secret recording made after they fired him, a court has been told. Gjert Ingebrigtsen also claimed that he had been dragged 'down to hell' after he was referred to child services following an incident in January 2022 where he is accused of whipping his daughter, Ingrid, in the face with a wet towel. But Henrik Ingebrigtsen, the older brother of Jakob who competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, told his father that he only had himself to blame for the split – and what had happened subsequently – because he had been 'violent' towards Ingrid. On another extraordinary day in Sandnes, Norway, the court was told long extracts of a terse and often argumentative 90-minute conversation, which had been recorded by Henrik without Gjert's knowledge a week after the towel incident. Gjert described that act as a 'betrayal'. At one point in the recording Gjert told Henrik: 'You have fired me as a coach. You have rejected us as parents and you are carrying out a perfect character assassination on top of that. What we have worked for, you erase with a stroke of a pen. And then the last bit of my income goes away.' On another occasion they discussed Ingrid, who was in her mid-teens at the time of the incident, having to go to child services. 'These people want to hurt me and drag me down to hell,' Gjert told Henrik. 'They are going to destroy me as a human being.' However Henrik said that the brothers had no choice given the circumstances. 'We cannot accept your treatment of Ingrid either,' he said. 'We cannot accept that at all. That's what started all this.' Gjert responded: 'I haven't made enough mistakes to deserve to be fired as coach of my boys.' On another occasion, Gjert said: 'If someone invites me to war, I won't turn the other cheek. I'll go to that war. With absolutely everything I have. By all means. That's how I'm made.' Henrik replied: 'There is no war.' Towards the end of the conversation, Gjert told his son. 'I never thought you would do something like this to me.' Henrik replied: 'We didn't think you would be violent towards Ingrid either.' Gjert, who is facing six years in jail for abusive behaviour towards Jakob and Ingrid, denies all allegations of violence. Earlier in the day, Gjert was again questioned about the towel incident with his daughter – but insisted that he had pulled a wet towel in the direction of her fingers rather than whip her in the face. 'I don't associate the movement with a blow,' he said. 'Whipping and hitting with a towel are the wrong terms. It's more of a pull. I pull the towel towards her finger. And I don't have a concrete idea whether I hit the finger. It's a relatively small towel. We stand relatively far apart. The pull I do is done – I think – twice.' On Monday Gjert told the court that a red mark on Ingrid's face in a photograph taken after the alleged incident may have been caused by a skin condition – and not, as she alleges, by being hit. 'The situation was heated,' Gjert said. 'Ugly things were said in loud voices. There was a reaction from me that was not very good on my part, I can't say anything more.' Gjert also accepted that on another occasion he had pushed his daughter with both hands for which he later apologised. However he insisted the push was not a violent force. Under cross-examination, Gjert was also asked about an incident where he was alleged to have hit Jakob. The prosecutor noted that Jakob's brother Filip had said he had seen 'the incident from several angles, and believes it may be because it went on for so long'. However Gjert denied this was the case. 'I still have no recollection of having beaten Jakob or anyone else – either in my household or others,' he replied. Under cross-examination, Gjert also denied calling Jakob 'stupid', an 'idiot', and 'a terrorist' when he was growing up. The trial, which is due to last until 16 May, continues.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jakob Ingebrigtsen's father denies kicking him and whipping daughter
Norwegian athletics coach Gjert Ingebrigtsen on Monday denied physically abusing his son and daughter, telling a court he had been an 'overly protective' father who had tried to help his ambitious children. Gjert Ingebrigtsen has pleaded not guilty to charges of physically abusing double Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Ingrid Ingebrigtsen, a promising athlete who gave up competitive running at the age of 15 in 2022. Jakob Ingebrigtsen - who won 5,000m gold at the Paris Games and the 1,500m in Tokyo - last week described a childhood marked by fear and manipulation when he took the witness stand. He described several incidents of violence. In one of them, prosecutors allege Gjert Ingebrigtsen struck his son several times after receiving a negative report about his behaviour from school when he was eight. On Monday, Gjert Ingebrigtsen addressed the court in his own defence, saying he had sought to protect all seven of his children, two more of whom, Henrik and Filip, also became successful athletes. He denied all allegations of violence, telling the court that he was so opposed to it that he told his children not to play violent video games. But he accepted that he had sometimes been demanding as a coach and admitted throwing a PlayStation out of a window on one occasion. 'Highlighting relevant incidents in relation to the charges may make it seem like I am being portrayed negatively towards my children,' he said. 'But I love my children immensely. 'I became a father very early, with an enormous need to protect,' he was quoted as saying by Norwegian state broadcaster NRK. 'I became what one might call overly protective.' He told the court the ambition of some of his children had been 'absolutely extreme' when they got involved in sports, according to NRK. 'I never heard 'could you please,' but rather entirely different demands and expectations. The demands from the children were about district level, national level, European level, and world level. Later, 'Dad' became 'Gjert,' and 'Gjert' became 'the accused',' he was quoted as saying. The 59-year-old denied whipping his daughter with a towel in an incident in January 2022, but said he found it 'extremely difficult to accept my own actions' and that the 'loss' of Ingrid, who moved out in the aftermath, was 'extreme', according to a report by The Guardian. The Guardian also reported that Gjert painted an unflattering picture of Jakob, who attended court, while giving evidence. The coach described him as being 'a privileged boy his whole life, he's been allowed to do and say whatever he wants. He's almost been carried on a golden chair his whole life.' He said that while there had been disputes over coaching matters there was 'nothing physical', and he denied kicking his son in an incident when Jakob was eight or nine years old. 'It is completely unthinkable that I would have kicked him,' he said. 'It is completely out of the question to kick one of my children.' Regarding video games, he said they were a frequent source of friction between him and his children as he discouraged them from playing some which contained elements of violence. 'I have spent a lot of time implementing non-violence in my children's upbringing,' he said. 'Violence is not a solution to anything.' Gjert Ingebrigtsen faces up to six years in prison if he is convicted, with the trial due to run until May 16 in Sandnes, Norway. Additional reporting by Reuters
