Gjert Ingebrigtsen is accused of violence, threats and coercion over several years against one of the children

Gjert Ingebrigtsen is charged with mistreatment of one of his children. He pleads not guilty.

– Many people think this is about a single incident. But the indictment covers several incidents from 2018 onwards, says Mette Yvonne Larsen to Aftenposten. She is a solicitor for four of the children.

According to the indictment, the mistreatment of one of the children must have taken place over several years and was both physical and psychological. According to the indictment, he must, among other things, have hit the person in the face and been threatening repeatedly. He also allegedly screamed until the child started to cry, then drove around until he was promised that the person in question would not tell about the incident.

Gjert Ingebrigtsen is also said to have poked the child with his finger in the chest and on the upper arm every month and screamed loudly that the person in question was an idiot.

During an argument in 2022, Gjert Ingebrigtsen allegedly hit the same child in the face with a towel. This last incident made the runner brothers choose to break with their father.

The indictment also describes coercion and incidents that include limited freedom of movement for the child.

Gjert Ingebrigtsen: Disagree with the presentation

Gjert Ingebrigtsen disagrees with the presentation of the events on which the indictment is based, according to his defender John Christian Elden. The 58-year-old pleads not guilty.

– We notice that the case now has a completely different character to what it initially had, and that the case has been dropped for all of the other victims, says Elden to Aftenposten.

Gjert Ingebrigtsen is accused of violating section 282 of the Criminal Code, which applies to abuse in close relationships, against one of the victims in the case.

The remaining cases investigated by the police have been dropped. One is considered outdated, while the last five conditions are left to the position of the evidence. The limitation period for such cases is currently ten years.

The investigation started after the running brothers Henrik, Jakob and Filip Ingebrigtsen went out in VG on 19 October 2023 and told their story. There they wrote, among other things:

“We grew up with a father who was very aggressive and controlling, and who used physical violence and threats as part of his upbringing. We still feel discomfort and fear, which has been in us since childhood”.

– The most important thing for the three of them is to end the relationship with their father. They have never been concerned with their own history, but to support other siblings, says Mette Yvonne Larsen.

She states that they have decided to complain about at least one of the closures.

– As regards the dropped cases, we agree that there is no evidentiary cover for Ingebrigtsen to have done anything punishable, says Elden.

Espen Skoland is press adviser for the running brothers:

– This is a private family situation. They do not wish to comment on the matter. The brothers have asked for peace and want to focus fully on sports. They are grateful that the press has respected this wish, says Skoland to VG.

Police inspector Terese Braut Våge says that says that the police aim to send the case to Sør-Rogaland district court for framing before the summer.

– It is natural to think that the case will be heard in the autumn, but it is up to the court to decide, says Våge.

She says that an extensive investigation was the basis before the indictment was issued.

– Abuse in close relationships is an extensive investigation. In this case, there was talk of a long period of time.

NRK received a warning from a family member

The Ingebrigtsen running family has received enormous attention. Mostly because of the results on the field, but also for the documentary series “Team Ingebrigtsen” about the three athletes and their coach father, which ran for several seasons on NRK.

Ten months before the final season of the series aired in 2021, the series creators received a warning from a family member: “You must think carefully about how you present Gjert in particular”.

NRK informs Aftenposten that they will not make changes to the series on NRK’s ​​website as a result of today’s charges.

– But we will continue to follow developments in the case and will make ongoing assessments, says Petter Wallace, program editor for external productions at NRK.

Does not receive Olympic accreditation

Gjert Ingebrigtsen is the coach of Narve Gilje Nordås, one of Norway’s medal hopes in the Olympics. The Olympiatoppen states that Gjert Ingebrigtsen will not receive accreditation for the championship.

It has previously been decided that Gjert Ingebrigtsen will not receive coach accreditation for the World Indoor Championships in March or the European Championships in Rome in June.