The Ingebrigtsen brothers have been concerned in a long-standing battle with their father and former coach, Gjert Ingebrigtsen. Earlier this week, the strain reached a excessive level when the Norwegian Athletics Affiliation denied Gjert accreditation for main championships within the upcoming yr, together with the World Indoor Athletics Championships and the Paris Olympics.
Final yr, the brothers revealed that Gjert would not coach his sons, Jakob, Filip and Henrik, for well being causes. Later it got here out that Gjert was not granted accreditation on the 2023 World Championships in Budapest and didn’t attend Jakob’s wedding ceremony in September, and Norwegian media dove into the feud.
In an announcement from the brothers printed within the Norweigan newspaper VG, they make clear their experiences with their father and former coach, revealing that their family whereas rising up was marked by aggression, management and bodily violence. Though they initially accepted these circumstances, two years in the past they selected to confront their traumatic previous. They referred to the state of affairs as “draining” and “insufferable.”
“We must always have helped cease the state of affairs earlier,” the brothers wrote on VG. “The truth that we didn’t weighs on us. Two years in the past, we had sufficient. The state of affairs we’ve got been via within the household has taken an unlimited toll. Within the midst of this, we’ve got tried to carry out, however the pleasure of taking part in sports activities is gone.”
The brothers requested the Norwegian Athletics Affiliation for security from Gjert and to not be put in conditions the place they could see or should face their father. “We would not have the capability or need to take care of him. Not now,” stated Henrik.
“On the premise of Jakob, Philip and Henrik’s statements right this moment, we promise to supply a protected surroundings and a wholesome efficiency surroundings for our athletes,” the Norwegian Athletics Federation wrote in a response to their assertion.
Gjert remains to be very a lot related to Norwegian athletics because the coach of high-profile middle-distance runner Narve Gilje Nordås, who gained bronze within the males’s 1,500m on the world championships in Budapest, ending on the heels of his compatriot, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and the brand new world champion, Nice Britain’s Josh Kerr.
Gjert responded to those claims via his lawyer on Thursday, denying the allegations of violence:
“The statements they make are baseless. I’ve by no means used violence towards my kids. That I’ve had weaknesses as a father, and to an excellent extent been a coach, is a realization I’ve additionally come to – albeit far too late.
“I’m removed from excellent as a father and husband, however I’m not violent. At first, it is a tragic state of affairs for my household–we’ve got reached the purpose the place we’re spreading false accusations towards one another within the media. It makes me deeply sad. How we’re going to get previous this, I don’t know, however we’ve obtained to attempt.”
The brothers concluded their assertion by saying that they need to get again to the enjoyment of taking part in sports activities and representing Norway “with the flag on their chest” with out the shadow of their household battle. “There are a lot of individuals who need to discuss to us about this matter. We don’t need that. This case has value an excessive amount of already, and now we need to transfer on,” they wrote.
