Monday marked the end of a months-long trial against Jakob Ingebrigtsen‘s father, Gjert, who was charged last year for the abuse of Jakob and his sister, Ingrid. While the 59-year-old was acquitted of violence against Jakob, who alleged Gjert had abused him physically and psychologically from age seven, Gjert was convicted for abuse against his daughter. According to BBC Sport, the father of seven will be fined 10,000 Norwegian kroner (C$1,373) and given a 15-day suspended sentence.
♦️ Gjert Ingebrigtsen found not guilty of physical abuse of Jakob Ingebrigtsen
♦️ Handed suspended 15-day sentence and fined for abuse of Ingrid
♦️ Ingrid awarded compensation of 10,000 kroner (£745) by the courtHere’s the update on the Ingebrigtsen case after the verdict was… pic.twitter.com/eFDiJeIYkm
— Sportstar (@sportstarweb) June 16, 2025
The single incident of assault took place in 2022, when Gjert hit 16-year-old Ingrid (who is now 19) in the face with a wet towel during an argument about whether she could go out with friends. She moved out of the family home shortly after. The event had triggered the Ingebrigtsen brothers Jakob, 24, Henrik, 34, and Filip, 32–all of whom have competed for Norway at the Olympics–to go public with their accusations of his aggression, control and physical violence in 2023. The trial began in March.
Initially, prosecutors had pushed for a two-and-half-year prison sentence, but a suspended sentence means Gjert will face no jail time.
The court’s verdict
In the verdict, the court stated the television series about the Ingebrigtsen family, Team Ingebrigtsen, which launched in 2016, did not portray the fear Jakob claimed he experienced because of his father. “Jakob shows no signs of fear or submission in relation to the defendant,” the verdict read. “Even though Jakob and his brothers and spouses have given credible statements, the total weight of the statements and other evidence reviewed means that the court must conclude that there is reasonable doubt about the defendant’s guilt.”
Gjert had been the longtime coach of Jakob and his older brothers. In 2022, the trio announced their father would no longer be coaching them, due to health reasons. At the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Gjert was denied accreditation.
“This case has no winners, and today’s verdict shows that all those affected have been exposed to an enormous burden that should have been avoided,” Gjert’s lawyer John Christian Elden said.
