Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Olympic 1500m champion, and his brothers have accused their father – and former coach – of violent and abusive behaviour in an extraordinary article that lifts the lid on their difficult relationship.
Writing in the VG newspaper in Norway, Jakob and his brothers Henrik and Filip – who are also accomplished middle-distance runners – called on the Norwegian athletics federation to help them avoid being near their father, Gjert, who coached them all to European glory before 23-year-old Jakob then became one of the greatest athletes on the planet.
“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.
“Somehow we have accepted this. We have lived with it, and in adulthood we have moved on. At least we thought so. In retrospect, we realise that it was naive. But two years ago, the same aggression and physical punishment struck again. It was the drop that made the cup run over.”
Gjert and his sons became part of a long-running and popular reality TV show in Norway, but last year he stepped down as the coach of “Team Ingebrigtsen”, apparently for medical reasons.
However at the world championships in Budapest this summer, the extent of the rift with his sons became clear as he was barred from the Norwegian camp for coaching Jakob’s 1500m rival, Narve Gilje Nordas. Norway’s athletics federation has now banned Gjert from next year’s world indoor championships in Glasgow and the European championships in Rome, and it intends to do the same for the Paris Olympics.
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“When we broke up with Gjert, we thought we would be able to handle the situation in an orderly manner, without mentioning the underlying circumstances,” the brothers added. “We now realise that is not possible. The pressure we have felt has been inhumane at times. We run out of energy and the joy of playing sports is gone.”
However Gjert Ingebrigtsen denied the allegations via a statement issued by his lawyer. “The statements they make are baseless,” it read. “I have never used violence against my children. That I have weaknesses as a father, and have been too much of a coach, is a realisation I have also come to, albeit far too late.
“I am far from perfect as a father and husband, but I am not violent. First of all, this is a tragic situation for my family – that we have come to the point where we are spreading false accusations against each other in the media. It makes me deeply unhappy. How we are going to get past this I don’t know, but we have to try.”
