Ingebrigtsen Sr in the dock for alleged abuse of Olympic champ

The father and former coach of double Olympic champion runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen denied physically abusing his son and daughter as his trial on the charges began in Norway on Monday.

After the indictment was read out, Gjert Ingebrigtsen, 59, told the court he rejected the accusations against him, on the first day of his trial in the Sandnes district court in southwestern Norway where the family lives.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who won two world indoor track championship titles in Nanjing this weekend, and two of his brothers, Henrik and Filip, who are also athletes, shocked Norway in October 2023 when they accused their father of using "physical violence" and "threats" as part of their upbringing.

Gjert Ingebrigtsen, whom the brothers described as "a very aggressive and authoritarian father", coached Jakob until after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where Jakob won 1500m gold.

He faces up to six years in prison if found guilty.

"Our client contests the charges against him and categorically denies having subjected his children to abuse, whether physical or psychological," his lawyer John Christian Elden told AFP ahead of the trial, which will run until May 16.

"Based on our analysis of the evidence included in the case, we believe that the indictment is baseless," he said.

The brothers' allegations in an October 2023 op-ed made headlines in Norway and abroad, and prompted Norwegian police to open an investigation covering all of the seven Ingebrigtsen siblings.

Police have dropped some of the accusations due to lack of evidence or the statute of limitations, but the prosecution retained several charges that involved Jakob, 24, and his sister Ingrid, born in 2006.

According to the charge sheet, Gjert hit, threatened and insulted Jakob on multiple occasions between 2008 -- when the boy was just seven years old -- and 2017-2018 when he, on the cusp of reaching the age of majority, moved out.

During the summer of 2009, Gjert allegedly kicked Jakob in the stomach when he fell off his scooter. Several years later, he allegedly threatened to "beat him senseless".

Over a period of four years from 2018 to 2022, Gjert Ingebrigtsen is also accused of having been abusive toward his daughter, insulting, threatening and slapping her across the face with his hand or a towel.

 'Eager for it to be over'

The lawyer representing Jakob and Ingrid, Mette Yvonne Larsen, told AFP her clients were "eager for it to be over".

According to their spokesman Espen Skolan, the Ingebrigtsen brothers do not wish to comment on the case at this point.

"We still feel a sense of discomfort and fear that we have felt since childhood," the three brothers Jakob, Henrik and Filip wrote in their 2023 op-ed.

Their father Gjert reacted at the time: "I am far from perfect as a father and husband, but I have never resorted to violence."

The sporting world has over the years seen numerous athletes coached by parents accused of being violent or abusive, including Mary Pierce of tennis and Todd Marinovich of American football.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen is the most successful of the three brothers, winning gold in the world championships over 5,000m in 2022 and 2023, and claiming the 1,500m and 3,000m titles in Nanjing this weekend to win a rare world indoor double.

After pocketing the Olympic gold in the 1,500m in Tokyo in 2021, he also won the 5,000m gold at last summer's Paris Games.

Just back from Nanjing, Jakob is expected to take the stand on Tuesday and Wednesday, before his sister does the same.

Several other members of the family, including brothers Henrik, 34, and Filip, 31 -- the 2012 and 2016 European 1,500m champions, respectively -- are also expected to be called as witnesses, as is their mother Tone.

Several dozen witnesses are due to testify in the case.

Clips will also be shown from a documentary made by Norway's public broadcaster NRK that followed the family for several years, but was recently removed from its streaming services at the family's request.