NEED TO KNOW
- Gjert Ingebrigtsen — the father of Olympic gold medalist Jakob Ingebrigtsen — was found guilty of assaulting his daughter, Ingrid
- Gjert was acquitted on other charges of abusing Jakob and his brothers
- Jakob’s lawyer said he found the verdict “very strange” but is “focused on moving forward” now
Gjert Ingebrigtsen, the father of two-time Olympic gold medalist Jakob Ingebrigtsen, has been convicted of assaulting his daughter, Ingrid, according to multiple reports.
Following a months-long trial in Norway’s South Rogaland District Court, Gjert, 59, was convicted on one count of minor assault on Monday, June 16, the Associated Press and New York Times reported. He was acquitted of other charges brought against him.
The court reportedly found Gjert not guilty of abusing Jakob, 24, following allegations of assaulting the world champion athlete.
Gjert denied the charges against him before the trial began in March. According to AP, the father of seven was given a 15-day suspended prison sentence and is required to pay roughly $1,011 in compensation.
The single count of abuse reportedly stems from Ingrid’s claim that her father whipped her face with a towel, striking her on her cheek in January 2022, she told the court. According to the Times, Ingrid said her father later apologized for “raising his voice — not for what actually happened.”
Gjert’s lawyers, John Christian Elden and Heidi Reisvang, told the Times, “The decisive factor in the court’s conclusion was that there was no evidence that Gjert Ingebrigtsen created a continuous fear in his children.” They added, “The court has particularly emphasized that several close family members and outside witnesses have not seen or experienced abuse.”
Speaking to AP, Reisvang said there are “no winners in this case” during the trial. The lawyer said his client “hopes that one day he will have contact and a relationship with his family again.”
Gjert, as well as Jakob, become popular personalities in Norway through their documentary series, Team Ingebrigtsen. The show followed Gjert as he coached his sons, Jakob, Filip and Henrik, in track-and-field and ran for five seasons until 2021.
By 2022, according to AP, the three brothers had accused their father of physical violence and intimidation in a column that ran in the national newspaper, VG. Following the accusations in the column, an investigation was opened
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Jakob’s lawyer, Mette Yvonne Larsen, told the Times her client found the verdict “very strange” after the trial and said, “You describe violence, you’re believed, and yet he isn’t convicted.”
Jakob, who once held the Olympic record in men’s 1500-meter, is “focused on moving forward” at this time, she added.
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