The daddy of Olympic 5,000m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen will stand trial subsequent yr after being charged with alleged bodily and psychological abuse of his son.
Jakob, 24, and his brothers Filip, 31, and Henrik, 33, who’re additionally Olympic athletes, final yr made public claims that their father – who was their coach till 2022 – had been violent.
Gjert Ingebrigtsen, who denies any legal guilt, was beforehand charged with bodily abuse by Norwegian police in April.
The 58-year-old was indicted on 29 November and it’s hoped authorized proceedings can happen within the first half of 2025, the Norwegian public prosecutor’s workplace confirmed to BBC Sport.
Gjert’s attorneys, John Christian Elden and Heidi Reisvang, mentioned in an announcement: “Gjert Ingebrigtsen maintains what he has mentioned all alongside, that he doesn’t admit legal guilt for the offences he has been charged with and that he has by no means subjected any of his youngsters to both bodily or psychological abuse.”
Jakob, Filip and Henrik accused their father of bodily violence and abusive behaviour in a Norwegian newspaper column final yr.
The trio, who’re amongst seven Ingebrigtsen youngsters, wrote that they “nonetheless really feel discomfort and worry” about Gjert, who they accused of being “very aggressive and controlling”.
Gjert, who stepped down as his sons’ coach in 2022 after Jakob received 1500m gold on the Tokyo Olympics, mentioned by way of his lawyer that assertion was “baseless” and he “by no means used violence towards his youngsters”.
Gjert was charged with one offence in April – however 5 instances had been dropped on the energy of proof and one different due to time constraints.
Mette Yvonne Larsen, who represents 5 of the Ingebrigtsen youngsters, advised Norwegian web site VG they might enchantment towards no less than one of many dropped instances.
Public prosecutor Birgitte Budal Lovlund advised BBC Sport: “I can affirm that Gjert Ingebrigtsen on November twenty ninth was indicted by our workplace for bodily and psychological abuse of his son Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
“The case has been forwarded to the district court docket of Sor-Rogaland for planning. The prosecution has requested that no less than 30 days be put aside for the authorized proceedings which are anticipated to happen throughout 2025, ideally the primary half of the yr. This, nevertheless, is as much as the court docket to determine.”
Along with his two Olympic titles, Jakob is a two-time 5,000m world champion, two-time world 1500m silver medallist, and 11-time European champion.
Brothers Henrik and Filip had been European 1500m champions in 2012 and 2016 respectively.
BBC Sport has approached Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s representatives for remark.
