Wed, May 14, 2025
Prosecutors call for Gjert Ingebrigtsen to be imprisoned for 2.5 years
Prosecutors, including Angjerd Kvernenes, have called for Gjert Ingebrigtsen, father and former coach of double Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, to be imprisoned for 2.5 years for his “regime of repeated abuse” on Jakob and his younger sister Ingrid.
Gjert became famous for coaching three of his sons to Olympic, World and European glory. However, he now stands trial over abuse allegations and faces years in prison if found guilty.
Gjert is also accused of referring to his son as a “thug” and “terrorist.” He allegedly threatened to “shame him and knock him out of health.”
The 24-year-old also stated that Gjert tried to prevent his relationship with his now-wife Elisabeth, who he shares a 10-month year old daughter with, after they met when they were 16. Gjert allegedly reacted angrily when they wanted to move in together when they were 18, according to The Guardian. Jakob voiced: “In that context, we were called terrorists by the defendant.”
When asked why he only moved 300 metres away from his father when moving out, Jakob stated: “That was as far as I dared to go, because I felt I definitely needed my parents’ consent, even though I was of legal age. I was afraid that the defendant would sabotage my life. He had a lot of control over finances, training and things that meant a lot to me.” Jakob repeatedly referred to Gjert as “the defendant” throughout the trial.
Jakob stated that he had not seen his father do anything physical to his older brothers but also raised the point that when he won the 1500m silver in the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, “the defendant was happy that I failed. And he conveyed that [within a] message.”
Jakob expressed how his father’s actions have impacted his emotions: “If I was happy or did something nice, it could be used against me if I was a little tired at training the next day. I was very conscious about showing emotions. I ended up not doing it. I have a hard time letting people in and I have a hard time trusting people.”
18-year-old Ingrid Ingebrigtsen, the younger sister of Jakob, also testified against Gjert.
Ingrid was allegedly struck in the face as a child around 2018-2019 for forgetting her heart-rate monitor, according to The Guardian. Gjert also allegedly referred to her as “incompetent” and “stupid.”
“I clearly said: ‘Shut up’, because it didn’t stop,” Ingrid expressed in the Norwegian court. She continued: “When I said that, I got a hand in the face. He hit me in the face. It was fast and it was hard. It hurt.” This is one of seven of Ingrid’s alleged incidents of abuse. Gjert also allegedly called Ingrid an “idiot” when she was sick and pushed her to the floor after an argument. Jakob also voiced that Gjert hit Ingrid in the face with a wet towel.
Ingrid also alleges that Gjert screamed at her so aggressively for not being able to change the radio or check the weather forecast that she burst into tears.
“He asked me if I was afraid of him,” Ingrid expressed. “I think that was very difficult to answer. I remember thinking: ‘What happens if I answer yes? What happens if I answer no?’ So I didn’t answer right away. Then I remember he asked again and again until I answered. Then I ended up answering ‘yes’.”
Ingrid stated that Gjert could not understand why she was so afraid of him. “It was the stupidest thing he had ever heard,” she said. “And didn’t drive home until I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone, especially not my mum, because he was afraid of what she would think.”
Gjert is more technically accused of “using threats, coercion, violence, restricting [Ingrid’s] freedom of movement and violating her in other ways.”
Kvernenes most recently, according to The Guardian, voiced that: “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. The starting point in these cases is unconditional imprisonment.”
Gjert’s lawyers John Christian Elden and Heidi Reisvang stated that Gjert believes: “the decision on prosecution has been rushed.”
Reisvang recently added that: “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 expected to finish this Thursday. We can expect to hear the ruling later in the summer.
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