Latest news with #Sagnes
The Guardian
13 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
The trial that has gripped Norway like a soap opera has ripped apart track and field's most famous family
The moment that ripped apart track and field's most successful and eccentric family came in January 2022, after the 15-year-old sister of the Tokyo Olympic 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen was grounded by her father after school. At that point, Jakob and his brothers Filip and Henrik, were all European, world or Olympic champions, having trained like professionals since before they were teenagers. They were also major TV stars in Norway thanks to the docu-series Team Ingebrigtsen, where they appeared alongside their coach and father Gjert. Gjert, whose manner could make an army drill sergeant sound touchy-feely, outlined his philosophy early in series one. 'I don't want to be an angry man, I want to be a father,' he said. 'But if being an angry man brings them their dreams I will tolerate what I am missing.' But on that day in 2022, Gjert's anger went too far. It led to him striking his daughter with a wet towel, his sons to ditch and denounce him, and to a courthouse in Sagnes, Norway where he stood trial for physically and mentally abusing Jakob and Ingrid. Amid tense scenes in court in March this year, Gjert explained what he felt had happened. 'She's really angry and says: 'I fucking don't want to be in this prison of yours any more,' while holding her index finger at me. 'I pull the towel against her finger twice in quick succession. She then says: 'What the hell are you doing, are you hitting me?' To which I reply: 'I didn't hit you.' Ingrid's testimony, though, told a different story. 'I had been so depressed and ignored for several months, I simply felt bullied,' she said. 'I pushed his finger away. He had a small towel that he had been sweating in, so it was wet. He whipped it at my face. First once without hitting. Then he did it once more, and then he hit me on the cheek.' After a month of deliberations, the court issued its 31-page verdict on Monday. And when it came to the wet-towel incident it was unequivocal. 'There is no doubt that the defendant acted intentionally.' The court noted that Ingrid had fled to her brother Henrik's home. And that Henrik's wife, Livia, had taken a photograph of a red mark across Ingrid's face. 'Ingrid's explanation is significantly strengthened by other evidence,' the court said. 'She left the house and moved out. The defendant, in turn, sent her a message the next day in which he strongly regretted the incident, emphasising that he needed help and that he wanted to see a doctor and psychologist. 'The court therefore assumes as proven beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant hit Ingrid in the face with a blow with a small and damp towel.' As a result of his actions, Gjert received a 15-day suspended sentence and was ordered to pay his daughter £744. Yet when the verdict was announced on Monday his reaction was one of 'relief', according to his attorney, Heidi Reisvang. Why? Because when it came to every other allegation against him, the prosecution was unable to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. The court accepted that Jakob and Ingrid's evidence had often been 'credible'. However it said that in many instances it was impossible to know the truth when Gjert, his wife Tone, or one brother, Martin, had one view of an incident – while Jakob, Ingrid and the other siblings had another. Jakob, for instance, had told the court that he had been punched 'many times' by his father when he was eight, after receiving a negative report about his behaviour from school. The incident was confirmed by Filip, who was said to have observed it from an adjacent room. However Martin said that his father had only grabbed Jakob and held him against the wall while he yelled. According to the ruling, memories could have been distorted by time – and antipathy. Some of the allegations, though, were dismissed by the court. It ruled that Jakob's claims to have been knocked off his scooter and kicked in the stomach by his father in front of witnesses were 'incomprehensible', suggesting that someone would have surely reacted to a little boy being attacked. It also dismissed prosecutors' claims that the Ingebrigtsen household had been 'characterised by continuous insecurity and fear of violence' between 2008 and 2018. While it acknowledged Gjert was sometimes angry, it said it was 'difficult to reconcile' the allegation with testimony from family friends, athletes and TV crews. The court also pointed to a heated 30-minute argument between Gjert and Jakob at a training camp in St Moritz in 2019, which was recorded by Henrik without his father's consent and later played in court, as evidence that Jakob was no shrinking violet. The judges described it as 'loud and rather pointless', but added: 'It must be emphasised that Jakob shows no sign of fear or submission towards the defendant. He stands his ground and retaliates against the defendant's verbal abuse.' So what might happen now? Speaking after the verdict, Reisvang held out hope that this great schism could be mended. 'As Gjert said during the trial, he wants to reconcile with his family, and he hopes that he will have a relationship with them at some point,' she said. 'That hasn't changed.' Jakob's reaction to the ruling came only via an Instagram post of a picture of his daughter, Filippa, which appeared to suggest hell might freeze over first. 'I will always be there for her if she needs a hug,' he wrote. 'I will cheer for her, whatever choice she makes (except if she steals my 911 GT3 RS). I will give her space if space is what she asks for. And I will love and respect her unconditionally (even if she steals my 911 GT3 RS)!' It was a promise that was touching and pointed. But while it spoke of looking to the future, you suspect there are scars here that will never disappear.
Irish Times
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Father of double Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen found guilty of hitting daughter but avoids jail
The father of the double Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen has been found guilty of hitting the Norwegian runner's younger sister, Ingrid, with a wet towel, and handed a 15-day suspended sentence. However, Gjert Ingebrigtsen, who coached Jakob to 1500m gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 before an acrimonious split a year later, was acquitted of the same charges against Jakob after a court in Norway found there was 'reasonable doubt' about the accusations. Ingrid, who left the family home aged 15 after a series of incidents, was also awarded compensation of 10,000 kroner (€870) by the court. The verdict marks another extraordinary episode in the life of the family that became huge reality TV stars in Norway after the docu-series The Ingebrigtsens, which charted their lives and eccentric nature, became a phenomenon. READ MORE Prosecutors had called for Gjert to be jailed for two and a half years for what they told the court in the town of Sagnes was a 'regime of physical and verbal abuse' towards Jakob and his younger sister, Ingrid, which spanned a decade. It followed testimony from Jakob, who said that he had been a victim of domestic violence at the hands of his father, who had punched and kicked him as well as 'controlled' him. Jakob Ingebrigtsen during Gjert Arne Ingebrigtsen trial. Photograph: Lise Åserud/NTB/AFP via Getty Images Early in the six-week trial, Jakob alleged that when he was eight his father had punched him in the head 'many times' after receiving a negative report about his behaviour from school. Jakob claimed that in another incident around the same time, he had been playing in the street on a scooter when his father jumped on him and kicked him in the stomach. The court also heard that Gjert had used threats, coercion and violence against Jakon's younger sister, Ingrid, including 'whipping' her in the face with a wet towel in 2022 after he had refused to let her play outside with friends. In court Gjert accepted that he had sometimes been demanding while coaching his three sons – Jakob, Henrik and Filip – to major international titles. The 59-year-old also acknowledged that he had once thrown the family PlayStation out of a second-floor window after a row. However, he denied all allegations of abuse and broke down in tears as he told the court that he had never hit anyone in his life. He also admitted his regret at falling out with Ingrid, who left the family after the towel incident. 'I miss her every day,' Gjert 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. The loss is extreme.' – Guardian
The Guardian
21 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Father of double Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen found guilty of hitting daughter but avoids jail
The father of the double Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen has been found guilty of hitting the Norwegian runner's younger sister, Ingrid, with a wet towel, and handed a 15-day suspended sentence. However, Gjert Ingebrigtsen, who coached his Jakob to 1500m gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 before an acrimonious split a year later, was acquitted of the same charges against Jakob after a court in Norway found there was 'reasonable doubt' about the accusations. Ingrid, who left the family home aged 15 after a series of incidents, was also awarded compensation of 10,000 kroner (£744) by the court. The verdict marks another extraordinary episode in the life of the family that became huge reality TV stars in Norway after the docu-series The Ingebrigtsens, which charted their lives and eccentric nature, became a huge phenomenon. Prosecutors had called for Gjert to be jailed for two and a half years for what they told the court in the Norwegian town of Sagnes was a 'regime of physical and verbal abuse' towards Jakob and his younger sister, Ingrid, which spanned a decade. It followed testimony from Jakob, who said that he had been a victim of domestic violence at the hands of his father, who had punched and kicked him as well as 'controlled' him. Early in the six-week trial, Jakob alleged that when he was eight his father had punched him in the head 'many times' after receiving a negative report about his behaviour from school. In another incident around the same time, Jakob claimed he had been playing in the street on a scooter when his father jumped on him and kicked him in the stomach. The court also heard that Gjert had used threats, coercion and violence against Jakon's younger sister, Ingrid, including 'whipping' her in the face with a wet towel in 2022 after he had refused to let her play outside with friends. In court Gjert accepted that he had sometimes been demanding while coaching his three sons, Jakob, Henrik and Filip, to major international titles. The 59-year-old also acknowledged that he had once thrown the family PlayStation out of a second floor window after a row. However he denied all allegations of abuse and broke down in tears as he told the court that he had never hit anyone in his life. He also admitted his regret at falling out with Ingrid, who left the family home at 15 after the towel incident. 'I miss her every day,' Gjert 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. The loss is extreme.'
