| Gjert Ingebrigtsen | |
| Birth Date: | 12 January 1966 |
| Birth Place: | Båtsfjord, Norway |
| Occupation: | Sports coach |
| Organization: | Sandnes IL |
| Partner: | Tone Eva Ingebrigtsen (née Tønnessen) |
Gjert Arne Ingebrigtsen (born 12 January 1966) is a Norwegian sports coach.
The patriarch of the Ingebrigtsen family, Ingebrigtsen was born in the Båtsfjord Municipality,[1] and resides in Sandnes. He is married to Tone Eva Tønnessen. The couple has seven children, including middle-distance runners Henrik, Filip, and Jakob.[2]
Ingebrigtsen coached his three sons until 2022;[3] those sons all had significant achievements in 2018. At the 2018 European Athletics Championships, Jakob won gold medals in both 1500 m and 5000 m, while Henrik won a silver medal in 5,000 m and placed fourth in 1500 m. Filip won gold medal at the 2018 European Cross Country Championships. Ingebrigtsen was awarded the title Norwegian Sports Coach of the Year for 2018, awarded at Idrettsgallaen in January 2019.[4]
Henrik, Filip and Jakob have all competed at the Summer Olympics. Henrik placed fifth in 1500 metres at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and reached the semifinal in 1500 metres at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[5] Both Filip and Jakob competed in 1500 metres at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo,[6] [7] where Jakob won the gold medal and set Olympic record with time 3:28.32.[8]
The Ingebrigtsen family has been featured in the television series Team Ingebrigtsen (2016-2021) and Ingebrigtsen: Born to Run (2024).[9]
Ingebrigtsen currently coaches middle distance runner Narve Nordås, who won bronze at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.[10]
In October 2023, Ingebrigtsen's professional running sons Jakob, Filip, and Henrik released a statement accusing their father and former coach of "aggression, control, and physical violence", also saying that he "took the joy out of the sport they once loved". Gjert stopped coaching his sons in 2022, and was not accredited at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.[11]
Ingebrigtsen will stand trial for alleged physical, mental, and verbal abuse of his children in 2025. The trial will last approximately eight weeks, and will call around 30 to 40 witnesses. He is charged with seven counts of breaching the Norwegian Criminal Code's section 282, which concerns abuse in close relationships. Ingebrigtsen has denied the allegations. If found guilty, Ingebrigtsen could face up to six years in prison.[12] [13] [14]