Father Found Not Guilty of Abusing Olympic Champ

UPDATE Jun 16, 2025 5:51 PM CDT

Gjert Ingebrigsten has been found not guilty of abusing Norwegian Olympic track champion Jakob Ingrebrigtsten and two of his brothers. After a trial that gripped the country, a court found that given conflicting statements from parents and siblings, there wasn't enough evidence to prove allegations of threats and physical abuse, the Guardian reports. "Even though Jakob and his brothers and spouses have given credible statements, the total weight of the statements and other evidence reviewed means that the court must conclude that there is reasonable doubt about the defendant's guilt," the court said, per the BBC. Ingebrigsten was found guilty of hitting his daughter Ingrid in the face with a towel and received a 15-day suspended sentence and a fine of $1,000.

Nov 30, 2024 1:00 PM CST

The father of Jakob Ingebrigtsen will stand trial on charges of abusing the Norwegian Olympic champion, as well as his brother. Gjert Ingebrigtsen is accused of beating the brothers when he was their coach, the indictment says, per the Guardian. He had been charged earlier in the year, and his lawyer said then he was charged with mistreating one of them. "He is now charged with having abused two of his seven kids," Mette Yvonne Larsen told Reuters. The indictment says that at one point, Gjert Ingebrigtsen threatened to beat Jakob to death.

The brothers—Jakob, Filip, and Henrik—accused their father of physical violence and abuse last year in a newspaper column. "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." All three brothers are prominent middle-distance runners. They've asked the Norwegian athletics federation to help them avoid their father, who still coaches another athlete, at international events. Gjert Ingebrigtsen has denied the allegations against him.

story continues below

Jakob, who won gold medals in the 1,500-meter event at the Tokyo Games and the 5,000-meter in Paris, has accused his father of a series of attacks. They include slapping him in 2008 and kicking him in the stomach after he fell off a scooter in 2009; Jakob Ingebrigtsen said one assault lasted 15 to 30 minutes, per Reuters. "I have never used violence against my children," Gjert Ingebrigtsen said last year. "That I have weaknesses as a father, and have been too much of a coach, is a realization I have also come to, albeit far too late." (More child abuse stories.)