Ingrid Ingebrigtsen, 18, told the court that she was slapped in the face by father Gjert, who denies all allegations, after forgetting to bring a heart rate monitor to training
Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s younger sister has told their father’s abuse trial that she was slapped in the face and called “stupid” after forgetting to bring a heart rate monitor to training. Gjert Ingebrigtsen, who denies the allegations, is facing up to six years behind bars if he is found guilty at the end of a high-profile trial in Sandes, Norway.
On day three, Ingrid Ingebrigtsen, who is now 18, said that in either 2018 or 2019 Gjert physically struck her and also called her “incompetent.” It is one of seven alleged occasions in which Gjert is accused of abusing Ingrid, who has since quit running.
“I clearly said: ‘Shut up’, because it didn’t stop,” Ingrid told the court. “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.”
The indictment against the father, who coached Jakob and older siblings Henrik and Filip until the allegations were first made public in 2022, says he is accused of using “threats, coercion, violence, restricting her freedom of movement and violating her in other ways” against Ingrid.
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Describing another incident where he “screamed” at her in a car to the extent she broke down in tears, Ingrid told the court: “He asked me if I was afraid of him.
“I think that was very difficult to answer. I remember thinking: ‘What happens if I answer yes? What happens if I answer no?’ So I didn’t answer right away. Then I remember he asked again and again until I answered. Then I ended up answering ‘yes’.”
On Tuesday Jakob, less than 48 hours after winning double gold at the World Indoor championships, told the court: “If I didn’t do as he did, he would come and shame me and beat me until I was sick.“
Throughout his evidence Jakob would only refer to Gjert as the “defendant.” And asked why he had stopped calling Gjert “dad” aged 11, Jakob added: “I no longer saw this person as a father. I thought that the things he says, the things he does and has done, are not worthy of a father.
As a result of the alleged abuse, Jakob said: “I have a hard time letting people in and I have a hard time trusting people.”
The trial continues. It is expected to last until mid-May.
