Jakob Ingebrigtzen (left) and Henrik Ingebrigtzen (right) wrote the article together with their brother Philip. Photo: Getty Images/Sam Barnes
Jakob Ingebrigtsen and his brothers, Norwegian running prodigies, have accused their former coach father of cruel and abusive behavior.
In a jointly written article in the VG newspaper, Jakob, Henrik and Filip also called on their country's athletics federation not to put them in situations where they would have to face «a father with whom we have no ability or desire to deal.» .
The claims are a major escalation of the bitter family rift that has emerged since it was announced last February that Gjert Ingebrigtsen would step down as coach of Team Ingebrigtsen.
It was reported that this step was due to health reasons, but Gjert almost immediately began working with Narve Gilje Nordas, one of Jacob's main rivals.
The 57-year-old, who called the allegations against him «baseless», previously coached each of his three sons to a European 1500m title and his youngest, Jakob, to an Olympic crown.
The brothers wrote: “When we separated from Gjert, we thought we could handle the situation in an organized manner without mentioning the underlying circumstances. Now we understand that this is impossible. This issue has become so acute and has had such serious consequences that we feel responsible for eliminating it.
“We grew up with a father who was very aggressive and controlling and who used physical violence and threats as part of his upbringing. We still feel the discomfort and fear that was in us since childhood.
“Somehow we came to terms with it. We lived with it and, having matured, moved on. At least that's what we thought. Looking back, we understand that it was naive. But two years ago the same aggression and physical punishment repeated. It was because of the drop that the cup overflowed.”
Saying they should have acted sooner, the trio added: “The situation is now untenable.”
After splitting with his father, Jacob, 23, won back-to-back 5000m world titles but suffered a shock 1500m defeat to the British Jake Whiteman and Josh Kerr.
The letter added: “The pressure we felt was at times inhumane. We run out of strength, and the joy of playing sports disappears.”
The Ingebrigtsen family, which includes four other siblings, became the stars of the long-running reality show, which exposed the intense relationship between father and son.
In one episode, Gjert said: “I don’t want to be an evil person. I want to be a father, but if an angry man brings them their dreams, I will endure what I lack.”
Jacob later said: “In our family, if people don’t argue, then something must be wrong.” not so.”
In a statement from his lawyer, Gjert said of his son's claims: “The claims they are making are unfounded. I have never used violence against my children. I also realized that I had weaknesses as a father and that I worked too much as a coach, although it was too late.
“Our family has lived in the public spotlight for many years. , and we decided to let the public into our lives through series, interviews and much more. That violence should have occurred in this public family life is unthinkable. The Norwegian people have seen our lives better or worse.
“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 — we have reached the point where we are spreading false accusations against each other in the media. This makes me deeply unhappy. How we will overcome this, I don't know, but we have to try.”
The Norwegian athletics federation said this month it would not grant Gjert coaching accreditation for next year's world indoor championships. Championships in Glasgow and the European Championships in Rome, and that he would recommend the same for the Olympic Games next year.
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