Ingebrigtsen Sr denies abuse allegations

The father and former coach of double Olympic champion runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen denied physically abusing his son and daughter, as his trial over the charges began in Norway on Monday.

On the first day of his trial in the Sandnes district court in southwestern Norway, where the family lives, after the indictment was read out, Gjert Ingebrigtsen, 59, told the court he rejected the accusations.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who won two world indoor track championship titles in Nanjing over the weekend, and two of his brothers, Henrik and Filip, who are also athletes, shocked Norway in October 2023 when they accused their father of using "physical violence" and "threats" during their upbringing.

Gjert, whom the brothers described as "a very aggressive and authoritarian father", coached Jakob until after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where Jakob won 1,500m gold.

He faces up to six years in prison if found guilty.

"Our client contests the charges against him, and categorically denies having subjected his children to abuse, whether physical or psychological," his lawyer John Christian Elden told reporters.

"Based on our analysis of the evidence included in the case, we believe that the indictment is baseless," he said.

The brothers' allegations in an October 2023 op-ed made headlines in Norway and abroad, and prompted Norwegian police to open an investigation covering all of the seven Ingebrigtsen siblings.

Police have dropped some of the accusations due to lack of evidence or the statute of limitations, but the prosecution retained several charges that involved Jakob, 24, and his sister Ingrid, born in 2006.

According to the charge sheet, Gjert hit, threatened and insulted Jakob on multiple occasions between 2008 — when the boy was just seven years old — and between 2017 and 2018 when Jakob, on the cusp of reaching the age of majority, moved out.

During the summer of 2009, Gjert allegedly kicked Jakob in the stomach when he fell off his scooter. Several years later, he allegedly threatened to "beat him senseless".

AFP