Father and former coach of the Ingebrigtsen athletes says he hates violence and didn’t intentionally harm his kids
Gjert Ingebrigtsen, who’s dealing with six years in jail for abusive behaviour towards his two of his kids, Jakob and Ingrid, has denied all allegations of violence throughout an ongoing courtroom case in Norway this week.
The 59-year-old says he didn’t beat Olympic 5000m champion Jakob whereas he was rising up. Neither, he claims, did he whip his daughter Ingrid with a moist towel.
The latter incident in 2022 led to Jakob and his brothers Henrik and Filip severing ties with him and going public with the main points.
Gjert informed the courtroom {that a} purple mark on Ingrid’s face in {a photograph} taken after the alleged incident could have been attributable to a pores and skin situation comparable to pimples, which he says his household are vulnerable to.
“The scenario was heated,” Gjert mentioned. “Ugly issues have been mentioned in loud voices. There was a response from me that was not excellent on my half, I can’t say something extra.”
He added: “I nonetheless haven’t any recollection of getting overwhelmed Jakob or anybody else – both in my family or others.”
Final week, Ingrid, who’s now 18, informed the courtroom she had been “whipped” within the face with a moist towel after her father had refused to let her play exterior.
However Gjert says his towel had solely made contact along with her finger. “I’m drying my neck with a towel,” Gjert informed the courtroom. “She’s actually indignant and says: ‘I f***ing don’t need to be on this jail of yours any extra,’ whereas holding her index finger at me.
“I pull the towel towards her finger twice in fast succession. She then says: ‘What the hell are you doing, are you hitting me?’ To which I reply: ‘I didn’t hit you.’”
Gjert additionally denied claims that he kicked Jakob after he fell off a scooter when he was eight or 9 years outdated. “It’s fully unthinkable that I might have kicked him,” he mentioned. “It’s fully out of the query to kick considered one of my kids.”
Gjert did, nevertheless, admit that he threw a PlayStation out of a window after a row, including: “Jakob has been a privileged boy his complete life, he’s been allowed to do and say no matter he needs. He’s virtually been carried on a golden chair his complete life. There have been completely different opinions associated to the discussions, no doubt. However nothing bodily.”
Gjert additionally denied calling Jakob “silly”, an “fool”, and “a terrorist” when he was rising up.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Getty)
The courtroom additionally heard a recording that Henrik had secretly made from an argument between himself and Gjert. At one level within the recording Gjert informed Henrik: “You’ve gotten fired me as a coach. You’ve gotten rejected us as dad and mom and you’re finishing up an ideal character assassination on high of that. What we’ve got labored for, you erase with a stroke of a pen. And then the final little bit of my revenue goes away.”
Additionally they mentioned Ingrid having to go to baby companies. “These folks need to harm me and drag me right down to hell,” Gjert informed Henrik. “They’ll destroy me as a human being.”
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