The younger sister of Jakob Ingebrigtsen told a court on Wednesday (Mar 26) that she was struck in the face by their father as a child for forgetting her heart rate monitor.
The incident occurred in 2018 or 2019 when Ingrid, who is now aged 18, was driving to training with her father, Gjert. When she told him she had forgotten the monitor it led to him calling her “incompetent” and “stupid”.
“I clearly said ‘shut up’, because it didn’t stop,” Ingrid told the court in Sandes in Norway. “When I said that, I got a hand in the face. He hit me in the face. It was fast and it was hard. It hurt.”
Gjert is alleged to have abused his daughter “by using threats, coercion, violence, restricting her freedom of movement and violating her in other ways”. The court was told that these incidents included calling her an “idiot” when she was ill and pushing her to the ground with both hands in the upper body during an argument.
Courtroom sketch by Ane Hem of Gjert Ingebrigtsen (Getty)
Gjert, who faces six years in prison if convicted of abusive behaviour towards Jakob and Ingrid, denies all allegations of violence.
Following the evidence he gave earlier in the week, Jakob added on Wednesday that the television series Team Ingebrigtsen was not a true portrayal of what went on in the family. “The problem we had with it is that it didn’t reflect reality,” he said. “A lot changed when the camera crew was present. When they film, it is presented in a more humorous and cosy way.”
Jakob Ingebrigtsen and lawyer Mette Yvonne Larsen (Getty)
Jakob, who stopped being coached by Gjert early in 2022, added that his father messaged him later that year after he lost to Jake Wightman in the world 1500m final in Eugene. “The defendant was happy that I failed,” he said. “And he conveyed that with that message.”
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