Athletics: Double Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen says father threatened to ‘beat him to death’ | Sport-others News

Double Olympic medall Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who won the 1500m gold in Tokyo and 5,000m gold in Paris, has alleged that his father and former coach, Gjert, “punched and kicked” him over a 10-year period from when he was a schoolboy.
Their father will stand trial next year on charges that include abusing the double Olympic ­champion and threatening to “beat ­him to death”.
According to the Norwegian newspaper VG, Gjert is also accused of calling his son a “thug” and a “terror”, and threatened to “shame him and knock him out of health”. Ingebrigtsen Sr denies the allegations. According to the newspaper, the trial is likely to last about eight weeks, with 30 to 40 witnesses expected to be called.
The newspaper report said it had seen the indictment and that state prosecutors have charged Gjert with beating two of his children at a time when he was also their coach.
Gjert and his sons were part of a long-running and popular reality television show in Norway, but in 2022, Gjert stepped down as the coach of “Team Ingebrigtsen”, apparently for ­medical reasons.
However, Jakob Ingebrigtsen and his brothers Henrik and Filip, accomplished middle-dance runners themselves, later called on the Norwegian athletics federation to help them avoid Gjert in ­international events, given their father coaches the 2023 world 1500m bronze medall, Narve Gilje Nordås.
“We have grown up with a father who has been very aggressive and controlling and who has used physical violence and threats as part of his upbringing,” the brothers wrote. “We still feel discomfort and fear which has been in us since childhood.”
According to VG, Jakob Ingebrigtsen has told investigators about the alleged physical and mental abuse both towards himself and his siblings.
“He has explained that he has been hit in the head several times his father, Gjert,” the paper says. “In one situation, the abuse lasted for 15 to 30 minutes”, Jakob Ingebrigtsen has explained to the police.
In comments made last year, Gjert added: “The statements they make are baseless. I have never used violence against my children. That I have weaknesses as a father, and have been too much of a coach, is a realisation I have also come to, albeit far too late.”