Athletics

Jakob Ingebrigtsen tells court of fear and control in testimony against father

‘Upbringing closely tied to fear,’ athlete says in abuse case

Jakob Ingebrigtsen at the South Rogaland District Court during the case against his father Gjert Ingebrigtsen. Photograph: Lise Aserud/NTB/AFP via Getty Images
Jakob Ingebrigtsen at the South Rogaland District Court during the case against his father Gjert Ingebrigtsen. Photograph: Lise Aserud/NTB/AFP via Getty Images
Tue Mar 25 2025 - 14:41

Double Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen described a childhood marked by fear and manipulation when he took the witness stand on Tuesday in a Norwegian court to testify against his father and former coach.

Gjert Ingebrigtsen has pleaded not guilty to charges of physically abusing two of his seven children, namely Jakob and his sister, Ingrid. The 59-year-old faces up to six years in prison, with the trial due to run until mid-May in Sandnes, south-western Norway.

“My upbringing was closely tied to fear. I’ve been aware of a fear-based culture for a long time. As a teenager, it was a concept I really identified with, because I felt I had no free will or say in anything,” said Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who won 5,000m gold at the Paris Games and the 1,500m in Tokyo.

“I was in an environment where everything was controlled and decided for me,” he was quoted as telling the Sør-Rogaland district court by the Norwegian state broadcaster NRK. “There was an enormous amount of manipulation.”

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During the first day of the trial on Monday, Gjert Ingebrigtsen told the court he was innocent of the charges against him, the Norwegian news agency NTB reported. He is due to testify next week, NTB said.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen (24) told the court about several incidents of violence.

Prosecutors allege Gjert Ingebrigtsen struck Jakob several times after he received a negative report about his behaviour from school when he was aged eight. “I remember being extremely scared. Now I’ve done something seriously wrong. I’m terrified of what’s going to happen,” Jakob told the court about the lead-up to the incident.

Jakob also told the court that when, aged 16, he met Elisabeth Asserson, who is now his wife, his father tried to put a stop to the relationship, fearing that having any relationship would harm his son’s sporting career. “I found it extremely difficult that someone like my own father could speak that way about Elisabeth, someone I cared about,” he told the court.