Running coach Gjert Ingebrigtsen is on trial suspected of assault and abuse against a daughter and his son Jakob Ingebrigtsen. The father, who previously trained the running star, has denied the crimes in the trial against him, which has been ongoing since March with testimony both in open court and behind closed doors in Sandnes, south of Stavanger.
On Tuesday, it was the turn of, among others, Håvard Tjørhom, deputy sports director of the Norwegian Athletics Federation.
During a conversation between Tjørhom and Jakob Ingebrigtsen after the Diamond League final in Eugene, USA, last year, the running star allegedly said:
Since I was eleven years old, I have trained to keep a distance from that man and tried to shut him out. And you get good at what you train for.
Tjørhom, who has had a kind of main responsibility to follow up on the broken family since he was appointed in 2022, is questioning himself about how he handled the situation.
He thinks he should have done more to keep Jakob and Gjert apart. Not least during the years 2022-2024 when Ingebrigtsen clearly had broken with his father while they still met at competitions.
On the way home (from Eugene), I apologized to Jakob for having failed to keep the distance between him and his father, says Tjørhom.
Later on Tuesday, Christina Ingebrigtsen, the wife of Kristoffer Ingebrigtsen, Gjert's eldest son, who has also directed accusations against his father about violence in close relationships but is not covered by the trial, will testify.
Running coach Gjert Ingebrigtsen is on trial suspected of assault and abuse against a daughter and his son Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who has double Olympic Games and World Championship gold medals outdoors and holds, among other things, the world record in the 3,000 meters outdoors. The father denies the crimes.
In the absence of evidence or statute of limitations, no crimes against any other siblings are covered by the trial.
The trial is planned to continue until May 16.
