In a shocking turn of events, the Ingebrigtsen brothers in track and field have opened up about how their dad and coach mistreated them, leading to a subterfuge on social media.
Gjert and his children
All three of Gjert’s boys independently decided to pursue running as a professional sport, as he detailed in a Nike blog. And up until 2022, he coached them during their formative years and assisted them in realizing their dreams.
As a father and coach, Gjert played a pivotal role in his three sons’ success. Henrik, Filip, and Jakob excelled in the European 1500-meter championships. Henrik secured the 2012 European gold with a remarkable time of 3:31:46, Filip achieved a record-breaking 3:30:01 to win the 2016 European gold, and Jakob set a new record of 3:28:32 for the 2018 European gold.
For a significant period, they were seen as a close-knit family, supporting one another through all challenges. However, when the three brothers courageously acknowledged the substantial sacrifices their aspirations entailed, their family dynamic underwent a transformation.
The brothers’ revelation
Gjert retired last year due to health reasons, and the brothers remained tight-lipped about the whole situation and simply stated that they would continue to train themselves for their upcoming competitions.
However, in a dramatic turn of events, it was revealed that Gjert had trained his son Jakob’s 1500m opponent, Narve Gilje Nordsen, resulting in the Norwegian Athletics Federation’s decision to ban Gjert from the upcoming World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, European Championships in Rome, and the Paris Olympics.
And, this week, the brothers finally revealed in the VG newspaper in Norway the reason why they rifted from their father-slash-coach.
On Thursday, Jakob Ingebrigtsen and his brothers Filip and Henrik accused their father and former coach Gjert Ingebrigsten of physical abuse in an explosive column.
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— FloTrack (@FloTrack) October 20, 2023
“We have grown up with a father who has been very aggressive and controlling and who has used physical violence and threats as part of his upbringing,” the brothers wrote. “We still feel discomfort and fear which has been in us since childhood.
“Somehow we have accepted this. We have lived with it, and in adulthood we have moved on. At least we thought so. In retrospect, we realise that it was naive. But two years ago, the same aggression and physical punishment struck again. It was the drop that made the cup run over.”
The brothers added that they initially thought that they’d be able to handle things gracefully without revealing their abuse to the public. However, they soon discovered that this was not feasible due to the extreme pressure they had experienced in the past, which had rendered them physically and mentally exhausted and deprived them of the joy of participating in sports.
Gjert refutes his sons’ claims
Gjert refuted his sons’ allegations against him, asserting that their claims were baseless. He also said that although he has shortcomings as a father and has been an excessive coach, he has never physically abused his kids.
“I am far from perfect as a father and husband, but I am not violent. First of all, this is a tragic situation for my family—that we have come to the point where we are spreading false accusations against each other in the media. It makes me deeply unhappy. How we are going to get past this I don’t know, but we have to try.”
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