Latest news with #JakobIngebrigtsen
CNN
23-06-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Jakob Ingebrigtsen is on a mission to be ‘recognized as the best runner to exist'
Bobbing up and down in a swimming pool, his head barely above the surface of the water, Jakob Ingebrigtsen is being forced to take things slowly. Very, very slowly. As he moves at a snail's pace around the pool at his home in Sandnes, Norway, Ingebrigtsen is quietly plotting his return to the running track. An Achilles injury has kept him out of action of late, and the recovery process, which the two-time Olympic champion is documenting on his YouTube channel, seems arduous and painstaking – even boring. As well as low-impact 'aquajogging' around a small pool, Ingebrigtsen might work up a sweat on a cross-training machine or rehab his Achilles with some weighted calf lifts. It's hardly a position he wants to be in with the World Athletics Championships less than three months away, but the 24-year-old still hopes to upgrade the gold and silver medal he won two years ago. 'I want to do that just a little bit better,' he tells CNN Sports. 'That's the main goal.' Self-improvement is Ingebrigtsen's raison d'être, constantly chasing ways to get fitter and faster. He broke the indoor mile and 1,500-meter world records earlier this year, adding to his outdoor records in the 2,000 and 3,000 meters. Two indoor world titles in Nanjing, China followed, making him only the sixth male distance runner to win Olympic, world outdoor and world indoor gold medals. That seemed to set up Ingebrigtsen perfectly for the year ahead before his strained Achilles forced him to reevaluate things. It's unclear when he will be back racing, but it's hardly changed the overarching ambitions for his running career. 'As an individual athlete, I want to be recognized as the best runner to exist,' says Ingebrigtsen, adding: 'The goal is to compete as much as I can. I really enjoy testing myself and trying to run the fastest (possible) is a part of that test … I think my chances are good for running fast.' Ingebrigtsen has used his time away from competitions to announce the launch Spring Run Club alongside a group of elite Norwegian athletes, including brothers Henrik and Filip. It features an elite team for male and female athletes with access to high-end facilities, training camps and training plans – 'everything that can be very difficult to facilitate if you're by yourself,' says Ingebrigtsen. The club also caters for amateur runners through its online platform, where members receive workout suggestions, nutrition tips and invites to group runs and races. 'There's a very big interest in running, and it's skyrocketed the last couple years,' says Ingebrigtsen. 'I think we wanted to use the opportunity to inspire and help the average runner, hobby runner, sub elite, and also elite runner as the best way possible to inspire and bring our knowledge, our expertise.' For Ingebrigtsen, the project is a way to broaden his sphere of influence beyond individual accolades, part of a goal to 'improve the systems around the world and also in Norway.' Perhaps more than most, Ingebrigtsen has seen how challenging the life of a professional athlete can be, especially when the relationship with your coach – who also happens to be a parent – begins to break down. Up until 2022, he and his brothers were coached by their father, Gjert – the family patriarch who was renowned for maintaining a close grip on his children's training and lifestyle. A documentary series, 'Team Ingebrigtsen,' shed light on the father-son, athlete-coach dynamic, resulting in the Ingebrigtsens becoming the most famous family in track and field. Then in October 2023, Jakob, Henrik and Filip publicly accused their father of using physical violence and threats towards them. Those allegations were followed by a high-profile trial in Norwegian courts, at the end of which Gjert was convicted of assaulting his daughter, Ingrid, leading to a suspended prison sentence and a 10,000 Norwegian Krone (just over $1,000) fine. He was, however, acquitted of other charges, which included abusing Jakob, the family's most decorated and well-known athlete. Gjert's defense attorneys, John Christian Elden and Heidi Reisvang, said that the court verdict showed there was no evidence of the 59-year-old creating 'a continuous fear in his children.' Jakob spoke with CNN Sports while the trial was still ongoing. He did not want to comment on the outcome of the legal proceedings, according to his representative, Espen Skoland, but on the day the verdict was announced, he wrote a lengthy Instagram post about his own daughter, saying he 'will love and respect her unconditionally.' The rift with his father has resulted in Ingebrigtsen essentially being self-coached for the past three years of his career, though he does lean on his brothers, both experienced and decorated distance athletes in their own right, for guidance. Such an approach is unusual among top athletes, who would rely on a coach to arrange their training and racing schedules. 'We just want to remove the whole coach principle because that's not really an approach that we associate with,' says Ingebrigtsen. 'I think it's very important to understand what you're doing, and if you don't, then you only get this program from your coach (and) you're not really understanding what you're doing. 'Me, Henrik and Filip are coaching each other and discussing everything. We have a lot of knowledge and expertise between us, but still, we have different histories with different perspective, and also see things from a different point of view.' Despite his age, Ingebrigtsen has already established himself as one of the greatest middle-distance runners of all time, with multiple Olympic, world and European titles already to his name. He has, however, proven to be fallible, especially in such a competitive era for mile and 1,500-meter running. At last year's Paris Olympics, Ingebrigtsen experienced perhaps the most disappointing day of his career, leading a star-studded 1,500m field for most of the race before fading in the closing stages. He finished fourth, his title defense ending in tatters, but did bounce back to take 5,000m gold a few days later. That wasn't the first time that Ingebrigtsen has been outkicked and outmuscled at a major race. He was bested by Great Britain's Jake Wightman in the 1,500m at the 2022 World Athletics Champions, then again by another Brit, Josh Kerr, in the same race the following year. The rivalry between Ingebrigtsen and Kerr has spilled into a war of words in recent years, roughly dating back to when the former claimed to have been under the weather during the 2023 world championships. Kerr has since aimed jabs at his rival's ego, while Ingebrigtsen claimed last year that he could beat Kerr blindfolded in the 3,000 meters. The pair have not met on the track since last year's Olympics, with Kerr – along with Americans Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse – signing up to race in Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track league. Ingebrigtsen says that he has been watching some of those races from back home in Norway – Kerr won one of the three meets and finished second in another – but without reading too much into the results. 'Of course, I'm very focused on my own training and my own bubble at the moment, but I think the more competition, the better,' he says. 'I'm a big competitor and a big fan of competitions, I think that's what drives the sport forward. 'Ultimately, I think that the most important thing is that they (his rivals) have fun with doing what they're doing. At the same time, it's very difficult to kind of compare anything and pull and conclude anything out of the performances. If it's fun, then it's fun, and I think that's the most important thing for them.' It's hard to believe, given the fierce competitor inside him, that Ingebrigtsen wasn't watching those Grand Slam Track races with just a bit of envy. He says that he dialed back his training so as not to risk 'a serious and career-threatening injury' further down the line, but is still hopeful of making a return soon. At the world championships in Tokyo, he will be out to prove that his performance at the Olympics was nothing more than a minor blip. 'For me, I always try to improve,' says Ingebrigtsen. 'I always try to run a little bit faster, do things differently to see if we get a better result. Ultimately, you will at some point find the limits … That's just a part of developing.'
CNN
23-06-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Jakob Ingebrigtsen is on a mission to be ‘recognized as the best runner to exist'
Bobbing up and down in a swimming pool, his head barely above the surface of the water, Jakob Ingebrigtsen is being forced to take things slowly. Very, very slowly. As he moves at a snail's pace around the pool at his home in Sandnes, Norway, Ingebrigtsen is quietly plotting his return to the running track. An Achilles injury has kept him out of action of late, and the recovery process, which the two-time Olympic champion is documenting on his YouTube channel, seems arduous and painstaking – even boring. As well as low-impact 'aquajogging' around a small pool, Ingebrigtsen might work up a sweat on a cross-training machine or rehab his Achilles with some weighted calf lifts. It's hardly a position he wants to be in with the World Athletics Championships less than three months away, but the 24-year-old still hopes to upgrade the gold and silver medal he won two years ago. 'I want to do that just a little bit better,' he tells CNN Sports. 'That's the main goal.' Self-improvement is Ingebrigtsen's raison d'être, constantly chasing ways to get fitter and faster. He broke the indoor mile and 1,500-meter world records earlier this year, adding to his outdoor records in the 2,000 and 3,000 meters. Two indoor world titles in Nanjing, China followed, making him only the sixth male distance runner to win Olympic, world outdoor and world indoor gold medals. That seemed to set up Ingebrigtsen perfectly for the year ahead before his strained Achilles forced him to reevaluate things. It's unclear when he will be back racing, but it's hardly changed the overarching ambitions for his running career. 'As an individual athlete, I want to be recognized as the best runner to exist,' says Ingebrigtsen, adding: 'The goal is to compete as much as I can. I really enjoy testing myself and trying to run the fastest (possible) is a part of that test … I think my chances are good for running fast.' Ingebrigtsen has used his time away from competitions to announce the launch Spring Run Club alongside a group of elite Norwegian athletes, including brothers Henrik and Filip. It features an elite team for male and female athletes with access to high-end facilities, training camps and training plans – 'everything that can be very difficult to facilitate if you're by yourself,' says Ingebrigtsen. The club also caters for amateur runners through its online platform, where members receive workout suggestions, nutrition tips and invites to group runs and races. 'There's a very big interest in running, and it's skyrocketed the last couple years,' says Ingebrigtsen. 'I think we wanted to use the opportunity to inspire and help the average runner, hobby runner, sub elite, and also elite runner as the best way possible to inspire and bring our knowledge, our expertise.' For Ingebrigtsen, the project is a way to broaden his sphere of influence beyond individual accolades, part of a goal to 'improve the systems around the world and also in Norway.' Perhaps more than most, Ingebrigtsen has seen how challenging the life of a professional athlete can be, especially when the relationship with your coach – who also happens to be a parent – begins to break down. Up until 2022, he and his brothers were coached by their father, Gjert – the family patriarch who was renowned for maintaining a close grip on his children's training and lifestyle. A documentary series, 'Team Ingebrigtsen,' shed light on the father-son, athlete-coach dynamic, resulting in the Ingebrigtsens becoming the most famous family in track and field. Then in October 2023, Jakob, Henrik and Filip publicly accused their father of using physical violence and threats towards them. Those allegations were followed by a high-profile trial in Norwegian courts, at the end of which Gjert was convicted of assaulting his daughter, Ingrid, leading to a suspended prison sentence and a 10,000 Norwegian Krone (just over $1,000) fine. He was, however, acquitted of other charges, which included abusing Jakob, the family's most decorated and well-known athlete. Gjert's defense attorneys, John Christian Elden and Heidi Reisvang, said that the court verdict showed there was no evidence of the 59-year-old creating 'a continuous fear in his children.' Jakob spoke with CNN Sports while the trial was still ongoing. He did not want to comment on the outcome of the legal proceedings, according to his representative, Espen Skoland, but on the day the verdict was announced, he wrote a lengthy Instagram post about his own daughter, saying he 'will love and respect her unconditionally.' The rift with his father has resulted in Ingebrigtsen essentially being self-coached for the past three years of his career, though he does lean on his brothers, both experienced and decorated distance athletes in their own right, for guidance. Such an approach is unusual among top athletes, who would rely on a coach to arrange their training and racing schedules. 'We just want to remove the whole coach principle because that's not really an approach that we associate with,' says Ingebrigtsen. 'I think it's very important to understand what you're doing, and if you don't, then you only get this program from your coach (and) you're not really understanding what you're doing. 'Me, Henrik and Filip are coaching each other and discussing everything. We have a lot of knowledge and expertise between us, but still, we have different histories with different perspective, and also see things from a different point of view.' Despite his age, Ingebrigtsen has already established himself as one of the greatest middle-distance runners of all time, with multiple Olympic, world and European titles already to his name. He has, however, proven to be fallible, especially in such a competitive era for mile and 1,500-meter running. At last year's Paris Olympics, Ingebrigtsen experienced perhaps the most disappointing day of his career, leading a star-studded 1,500m field for most of the race before fading in the closing stages. He finished fourth, his title defense ending in tatters, but did bounce back to take 5,000m gold a few days later. That wasn't the first time that Ingebrigtsen has been outkicked and outmuscled at a major race. He was bested by Great Britain's Jake Wightman in the 1,500m at the 2022 World Athletics Champions, then again by another Brit, Josh Kerr, in the same race the following year. The rivalry between Ingebrigtsen and Kerr has spilled into a war of words in recent years, roughly dating back to when the former claimed to have been under the weather during the 2023 world championships. Kerr has since aimed jabs at his rival's ego, while Ingebrigtsen claimed last year that he could beat Kerr blindfolded in the 3,000 meters. The pair have not met on the track since last year's Olympics, with Kerr – along with Americans Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse – signing up to race in Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track league. Ingebrigtsen says that he has been watching some of those races from back home in Norway – Kerr won one of the three meets and finished second in another – but without reading too much into the results. 'Of course, I'm very focused on my own training and my own bubble at the moment, but I think the more competition, the better,' he says. 'I'm a big competitor and a big fan of competitions, I think that's what drives the sport forward. 'Ultimately, I think that the most important thing is that they (his rivals) have fun with doing what they're doing. At the same time, it's very difficult to kind of compare anything and pull and conclude anything out of the performances. If it's fun, then it's fun, and I think that's the most important thing for them.' It's hard to believe, given the fierce competitor inside him, that Ingebrigtsen wasn't watching those Grand Slam Track races with just a bit of envy. He says that he dialed back his training so as not to risk 'a serious and career-threatening injury' further down the line, but is still hopeful of making a return soon. At the world championships in Tokyo, he will be out to prove that his performance at the Olympics was nothing more than a minor blip. 'For me, I always try to improve,' says Ingebrigtsen. 'I always try to run a little bit faster, do things differently to see if we get a better result. Ultimately, you will at some point find the limits … That's just a part of developing.'
The Herald Scotland
21-06-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Josh Kerr: Getting to the top is the easy part, staying there is tough
While retaining his place at the top of the men's 1500m tree is far from easy, Kerr is as well-equipped as anyone to manage it. There are few better examples of Kerr's ability to live up to both the hype and the pressure than his last outing; earlier this month, at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia, the Scot was in a lowly sixth place with just 200m of the 1500m to go. Twenty seconds later, he'd won the race, beating the Olympic champion in the process. It was a performance that illustrated Kerr's desire, desperation even, to continue improving year-on-year, which is not always easy when the standard you've set is being the best 1500m runner on the planet. 'For sure, it's easier to get to the top than stay at the top,' Kerr says. 'When you're trying to get to the top, you can take multiple attempts whereas when you're trying to stay at the top, every person on the planet is gunning for you every single race. 'Getting to the top, you're exploring what works for you, and to stay at the top, you have to keep adapting and get the balance right. 'I've learned so much over the past three years and now, I've got a real wealth of knowledge about what works for me and what doesn't. Each year, I up my level of professionalism and improve the way I live my life, the way I train and the way I race.' 'I've built off last year and I feel the strongest I've ever been. I'm working on my speed now so I think it's going to end up with some pretty awesome performances.' (Image: Getty Images) The 27-year-old from Edinburgh has evolved into one of the faces of track and field. His world 1500m title in 2023, which was bookended by Olympic bronze and Olympic silver in 2021 and 2024 is, to date, the high point of Kerr's career and kick-started a rivalry with the Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen which brought an audience to the sport whose attention had been captured by the back-and-forth between the pair. Both Kerr and Ingebrigtsen, however, failed to become Olympic champion last summer with American Cole Hocker producing one of the upsets of Paris to claim the 1500m title. Given Kerr had begun last year stating explicitly that his aim was to become Olympic champion, his Olympic silver was, on paper, a failure. But a personal best time and a British record in the Olympic final softened the blow somewhat and over the months that followed Paris 2024, Kerr came to accept that he's not always going to be able to live up to the standards he sets himself. And he hasn't, perhaps surprisingly, used that defeat in the Olympic final as motivation for this season. 'Olympic silver produces very mixed emotions,' he says. 'I've shown up every year for the last six years and run either a season's best or a personal best in major championships finals and that's the best I can do. I have no control over what anyone else does. 'Yes, if I don't win, I'm not happy with how my year went. That's a pretty tough standard to meet and it's one I'm not going to meet every year because I'm a human being. 'When you set those standards, you have to be strict with yourself but I love what I do and if I wasn't getting paid to do it, I would still do it because I'm so curious to see how far I can push my body and see if I can keep putting on these performances in high-pressure environments.' (Image: Getty Images) Kerr has raced six times so far this year, all of which have been at Grand Slam Track meets. The new venture, set up by Olympic running great, Michael Johnson, was developed with the aim of revitalising athletics and bringing it to a new, wider audience. Kerr has been one of the most prominent faces in Grand Slam Track this season and on the track, the Scot certainly lived up his billing, winning his first Grand Slam Track title at the second meet in Miami last month with impressive performances over both 1500m and 800m (and taking home $100,000 as a result) while at the most recent meet in Philadelphia, Kerr produced one of the most thrilling performances of the weekend with his aforementioned surge from sixth place to first in the 1500m. This race in particular highlighted one of the major selling points of Grand Slam Track which is that athletes will be racing to beat each other rather than merely chasing fast times, which is what, to it's detriment, the sport has widely focused upon in recent years. Grand Slam Track has lofty aspirations to change the face of athletics and while not all of the initial aims have been fulfilled, Kerr retains the belief that it's been, and will continue to be, a very good thing for the sport. 'The first meet was the first meet. We weren't sure how it was going to go and in some respects, the organisers wanted it to be the Super Bowl but that's very hard to do,' he says. 'What was so awesome about it, though, is that it was continually being tweaked to make it better. And as athletes, we had an awesome time. We got treated like professionals and we raced against the best athletes in the world, which I really liked. 'Recently, we've been running time trials a lot and I wouldn't say that becomes boring but it is very difficult physically and mentally to keep running like that. In the 1500m at Grand Slam Track, we provided some really great entertainment and that's what people like watching. 'So I feel like Grand Slam track is on a really good trajectory, and I'm excited to see how it looks next season.' A sizeable bump in the road for Grand Slam Track has been the cancellation of the fourth and final meet, which had been scheduled for next weekend in LA. It is, says founder Michael Johnson, a 'business decision' and while many have used the meet's cancellation as a stick with which to beat the project, Kerr feels none of that pessimism. 'There's always going to be positives and negatives at the start of every new venture and Grand Slam track is just trying to find its way. And actually, I think dropping LA this season is the right decision,' he says. 'It's easy for audiences to sit and critique but I feel like Grand Slam Track was good because it was improving with each meet. 'There's always going to be some negatives around a decision like the one to cancel LA but, at the end of the day, they want to put on the best track meets in the world and elevate the sport, which can only be a good thing.' The cancellation of next week's event means Kerr's competitive appearances will be sparse between now and the World Championships in Tokyo in September, at which he'll be defending his world 1500m title. On his schedule between now and his world title defence is only the London Athletics Meet next month and the British Championships in August. This will, he is confident, ensure he's in the best possible shape both physically and mentally when he arrives in Tokyo later in the season. 'The year is planned out to make sure I'm at my best for Tokyo and that's all on track,' he says. 'My sessions are coming together and everything else is coming together too so I can't complain with where I'm at. Things are going to plan as of right now and the aim is absolutely to retain my world title.'
The National
21-06-2025
- Sport
- The National
Josh Kerr: Getting to the top is the easy part, staying there is tough
What's considerably harder, he's finding out, is staying there. While retaining his place at the top of the men's 1500m tree is far from easy, Kerr is as well-equipped as anyone to manage it. There are few better examples of Kerr's ability to live up to both the hype and the pressure than his last outing; earlier this month, at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia, the Scot was in a lowly sixth place with just 200m of the 1500m to go. Twenty seconds later, he'd won the race, beating the Olympic champion in the process. It was a performance that illustrated Kerr's desire, desperation even, to continue improving year-on-year, which is not always easy when the standard you've set is being the best 1500m runner on the planet. 'For sure, it's easier to get to the top than stay at the top,' Kerr says. 'When you're trying to get to the top, you can take multiple attempts whereas when you're trying to stay at the top, every person on the planet is gunning for you every single race. 'Getting to the top, you're exploring what works for you, and to stay at the top, you have to keep adapting and get the balance right. 'I've learned so much over the past three years and now, I've got a real wealth of knowledge about what works for me and what doesn't. Each year, I up my level of professionalism and improve the way I live my life, the way I train and the way I race.' 'I've built off last year and I feel the strongest I've ever been. I'm working on my speed now so I think it's going to end up with some pretty awesome performances.' (Image: Getty Images) The 27-year-old from Edinburgh has evolved into one of the faces of track and field. His world 1500m title in 2023, which was bookended by Olympic bronze and Olympic silver in 2021 and 2024 is, to date, the high point of Kerr's career and kick-started a rivalry with the Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen which brought an audience to the sport whose attention had been captured by the back-and-forth between the pair. Both Kerr and Ingebrigtsen, however, failed to become Olympic champion last summer with American Cole Hocker producing one of the upsets of Paris to claim the 1500m title. Given Kerr had begun last year stating explicitly that his aim was to become Olympic champion, his Olympic silver was, on paper, a failure. But a personal best time and a British record in the Olympic final softened the blow somewhat and over the months that followed Paris 2024, Kerr came to accept that he's not always going to be able to live up to the standards he sets himself. And he hasn't, perhaps surprisingly, used that defeat in the Olympic final as motivation for this season. 'Olympic silver produces very mixed emotions,' he says. 'I've shown up every year for the last six years and run either a season's best or a personal best in major championships finals and that's the best I can do. I have no control over what anyone else does. 'Yes, if I don't win, I'm not happy with how my year went. That's a pretty tough standard to meet and it's one I'm not going to meet every year because I'm a human being. 'When you set those standards, you have to be strict with yourself but I love what I do and if I wasn't getting paid to do it, I would still do it because I'm so curious to see how far I can push my body and see if I can keep putting on these performances in high-pressure environments.' (Image: Getty Images) Kerr has raced six times so far this year, all of which have been at Grand Slam Track meets. The new venture, set up by Olympic running great, Michael Johnson, was developed with the aim of revitalising athletics and bringing it to a new, wider audience. Kerr has been one of the most prominent faces in Grand Slam Track this season and on the track, the Scot certainly lived up his billing, winning his first Grand Slam Track title at the second meet in Miami last month with impressive performances over both 1500m and 800m (and taking home $100,000 as a result) while at the most recent meet in Philadelphia, Kerr produced one of the most thrilling performances of the weekend with his aforementioned surge from sixth place to first in the 1500m. This race in particular highlighted one of the major selling points of Grand Slam Track which is that athletes will be racing to beat each other rather than merely chasing fast times, which is what, to it's detriment, the sport has widely focused upon in recent years. Grand Slam Track has lofty aspirations to change the face of athletics and while not all of the initial aims have been fulfilled, Kerr retains the belief that it's been, and will continue to be, a very good thing for the sport. 'The first meet was the first meet. We weren't sure how it was going to go and in some respects, the organisers wanted it to be the Super Bowl but that's very hard to do,' he says. 'What was so awesome about it, though, is that it was continually being tweaked to make it better. And as athletes, we had an awesome time. We got treated like professionals and we raced against the best athletes in the world, which I really liked. 'Recently, we've been running time trials a lot and I wouldn't say that becomes boring but it is very difficult physically and mentally to keep running like that. In the 1500m at Grand Slam Track, we provided some really great entertainment and that's what people like watching. 'So I feel like Grand Slam track is on a really good trajectory, and I'm excited to see how it looks next season.' A sizeable bump in the road for Grand Slam Track has been the cancellation of the fourth and final meet, which had been scheduled for next weekend in LA. It is, says founder Michael Johnson, a 'business decision' and while many have used the meet's cancellation as a stick with which to beat the project, Kerr feels none of that pessimism. 'There's always going to be positives and negatives at the start of every new venture and Grand Slam track is just trying to find its way. And actually, I think dropping LA this season is the right decision,' he says. 'It's easy for audiences to sit and critique but I feel like Grand Slam Track was good because it was improving with each meet. 'There's always going to be some negatives around a decision like the one to cancel LA but, at the end of the day, they want to put on the best track meets in the world and elevate the sport, which can only be a good thing.' The cancellation of next week's event means Kerr's competitive appearances will be sparse between now and the World Championships in Tokyo in September, at which he'll be defending his world 1500m title. On his schedule between now and his world title defence is only the London Athletics Meet next month and the British Championships in August. This will, he is confident, ensure he's in the best possible shape both physically and mentally when he arrives in Tokyo later in the season. 'The year is planned out to make sure I'm at my best for Tokyo and that's all on track,' he says. 'My sessions are coming together and everything else is coming together too so I can't complain with where I'm at. Things are going to plan as of right now and the aim is absolutely to retain my world title.'
CBC
16-06-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Father of track star Jakob Ingebrigtsen cleared of abusing 2-time Olympic champion
Gjert Ingebrigtsen, the father of Norwegian track star Jakob Ingebrigtsen, was convicted Monday of one count of assault against his daughter and given a suspended prison sentence. A court in Sandnes, Norway acquitted Gjert of other charges including abusing Jakob, a multiple Olympic and world middle-distance champion. In a trial that started in March and has gripped Norway, Gjert, 59, was accused of an alleged years-long campaign of domestic abuse toward Jakob and younger sister, Ingrid. Gjert denied the charges against him. A verdict in the case was delivered in writing by Soer Rogaland District Court and Gjert was convicted of a single incident of minor assault against his daughter, his legal team confirmed to The Associated Press. He was handed a 15-day suspended sentence and ordered to pay NOK 10,000 ($1,010 US) in compensation. John Christian Elden and Heidi Reisvang, defence attorneys from Elden Law Firm, said it was the court's conclusion there "was no evidence to show that Gjert Ingebrigtsen created a continuous fear in his children." "There are no winners in this case," Reisvang, who was assisting counsel during the trial, told the AP. "He [Gjert] hopes that one day he will have contact and a relationship with his family again." Gjert became a prominent media figure in Norway in 2016 following his involvement in the TV documentary series Team Ingebrigtsen, in which he was seen coaching his three track-and-field sons, Jakob, Filip and Henrik. The series ran until 2021. By 2022 the trio had parted ways with their coach-father and the following year co-signed a column in the national newspaper, VG, accusing Gjert of physical violence and intimidation. The police opened an investigation, with court proceedings eventually brought relating to Gjert's treatment of Jakob and Ingrid. Gjert continued coaching after the split with his sons and now guides Jakob's 1500-metre Norwegian rival, Narve Gilje Nordas. The 24-year-old Jakob won Olympic gold in the 1,500 at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and the 5,000 at the Paris Games in 2024. He was world champion at the 5,000 in 2022 and '23. He listed his achievements on the track in a post on Instagram — published soon after the verdict in the trial was announced — in which he said the goal he most cares about is that his daughter, Filippa, "will love and respect me for her upbringing."
