Gjert Ingebrigtsen, the father and former coach of Olympic gold medalist Jakob Ingebrigtsen, has been found guilty of assaulting his daughter Ingrid but acquitted of longstanding abuse allegations made by Jakob and his siblings.
The 59-year-old was handed a 15-day suspended prison sentence on Monday and ordered to pay 10,000 Norwegian kroner (roughly $1,010 USD) in compensation to Ingrid.
The conviction stemmed from a January 2022 incident in which Gjert struck his then-16-year-old daughter in the face with a damp towel during an argument about whether she could go out with friends.
Ingrid left the family home that night and has not lived there since.
The ruling came after a six-week trial in Sandnes, Norway, where both Jakob and Ingrid testified that they endured years of physical and psychological abuse.
Gjert denied the allegations, pleading not guilty and framing his parenting as strict but supportive.
While the court found Ingrid’s account credible and supported by evidence, including a photograph of her injuries and a message from Gjert the next day expressing regret, it concluded there was reasonable doubt regarding the broader allegations of abuse toward Jakob.
Jakob, now 24, claimed his childhood was defined by fear and control. He testified that from the age of seven, he was subjected to physical punishment and psychological manipulation, including being punched in the head on multiple occasions.
His older brothers, Filip and Henrik, both Olympians themselves, supported his version of events, as did several of their partners. However, some other family members disputed the claims, and the court ultimately found the evidence too inconclusive to convict.
The court noted that the popular Norwegian reality series Team Ingebrigtsen, which aired from 2016 to 2021 and followed the family’s athletic journey, showed no signs of the fear or submission Jakob described.
“Jakob shows no signs of fear or submission in relation to the defendant,” the court wrote in its ruling.
Prosecutors had initially sought a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for Gjert, arguing that the siblings lived under what they called a “regime of verbal and physical abuse,” but the court’s verdict fell far short of that.
Ingrid, now 19, testified that her father’s control over her daily life led to isolation and anxiety. After she moved out, she said she experienced a sense of freedom for the first time.
Her brother Jakob echoed that sentiment in court, saying both he and his sister are now finally free from someone who dominated and controlled them.
Gjert’s lawyers said the ruling vindicated their client, emphasizing that the court found no pattern of abuse.
“The decisive factor in the court’s conclusion was that there was no evidence that Gjert Ingebrigtsen created a continuous fear in his children,” read a statement from his legal team. “Several close family members and outside witnesses have not seen or experienced abuse.”
One of his lawyers, John Christian Elden, added: “There are no winners in this case. Today’s verdict shows that all those affected have been exposed to an enormous burden that should have been avoided.”
Jakob’s lawyer, Mette Yvonne Larsen, said the runner found the verdict “very strange” but was focused on healing and moving on. “You describe violence, you’re believed, and yet he isn’t convicted,” she said. “But Jakob is focused on the future. The wounds are there, and it will take time to heal.”
The Ingebrigtsen brothers publicly cut ties with their father in 2022, initially citing health reasons. A year later, they co-wrote a newspaper op-ed accusing him of physical violence and intimidation, triggering the police investigation that led to the trial.
At the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Gjert was denied accreditation, further confirming the family rupture.
Now coaching Jakob’s domestic rival Narve Gilje Nordås, Gjert has largely withdrawn from public life. He has 14 days to appeal the conviction. Prosecutors are still reviewing the court’s reasoning and have not yet decided whether to appeal the acquittal.
