Ingebrigtsen's father denies kicking the Olympic champion

The father of the Norwegian athlete Jakob Ingebrigtsen has denied kicking the double Olympic gold medallist and whipping his daughter in the face with a sweaty towel.

- Sean Ingle

At the start of the second week of a trial that has gripped Norway, Gjert Ingebrigtsen repeatedly broke down in tears as he said he had never hit anyone, and was so against violence he had been discharged from the military.

In five hours of evidence, Gjert accepted he had sometimes been demanding while coaching his three sons, Jakob, Henrik and Filip, to international titles - and also acknowledged that he had once thrown the family PlayStation out of a second-floor window after a row.

However, Gjert, who is facing six years in jail for abusive behaviour towards Jakob and Ingrid, denied all allegations of violence. Much of his testimony centred on an incident involving Ingrid in January 2022 that led to the brothers severing their ties with him. Last week, Ingrid, who is now 18, told the court she had been "whipped" in the face with a wet towel after her father had refused to let her play outside with friends.