by Larry Eder
In a copyrighted article by Reuters (https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/38702416/jakob-ingebrigtsen-brothers-accuse-father-violence-threats), Jakob, Filip, and Henrik have accused their father, Gjert Ingebrigtsen of “physical violence and abusive behavior”.
This controversy has been going on for some time in the Norwegian press, and Gjert Ingebrigtsen was not recognized as a coach by the Norwegian federation; hence no credentials in Budapest from World Athletics.
World Athletics explained to RunBlogRun, “World Athletics can only recognize coaches who have been recognized by the National Federation.”
Per the Reuters article, lawyers became involved when Gjert Ingebrigtsen was not recognized again as a coach by the Norwegian federation, making it impossible for him to be credentialed as a coach at the World Indoors in Glasgow (March 2024) and Paris Olympics (August 2024).
In the original article, which was published in Norwegian websites, an article was written by Jakob, Filip, and Henrik Ingebrigtsen explaining that, due to overwhelming media scrutiny, they have come out to say why they left Gjert as a coach two years ago.
The three brothers accused their father of violence and abusive behavior and noted that he had done this as recently as two years ago.
Gjert Ingebrigtsen has denied all abuse and violence, admitting, however, that he was less than the perfect father.
The lawyer for Gjert, John Christian Elden, notes that VG Publishing should not have published the accusations as there are no charges, and Gjert has denied the accusations.
RunBlogRun understands that the Norwegian Federation has lawyered up and that this could head to the Norwegian courts.
At RunBlogRun, not knowing any of this, we asked last week why Gjert was not on the coaching list for Norway, and unfortunately, now we know.
RunBlogRun will update as we learn new information.
To read more: From Guardian UK: Jakob Ingebrigtsen and brothers Henrik and Filip accuse father, Gert, of Vioent and Abusive behavior, by Sean Ingle, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/oct/20/jakob-ingebrigtsen-brothers-henrik-filip-accuse-father-gjert-violent-abusive-behaviour-athletics
