When Gjert Ingebrigtsen and sons broke the training collaboration in early 2022, Håvard Tjørhom thought it would also be natural for Gjert to finish as coach for Narve Gilje Nordås. – I thought he would give up after that season. Gjert told me that he had promised to be a coach for Narve, but I asked him if the family situation was not more important, Tjørhom said in court. Håvard Tjørhom also spoke a lot with the runners Ingebrigtsen during this period. – They were very private, but they told me that Gjert wanted to destroy them. I had a hard time believing that, Tjørhom said. But this changed according to the sports leader. “Why did it change?” Asked prosecutor Ellen Gimre. Håvard Tjørhom in the Athletics Association told in court on a demanding cooperation with Gjert Ingebrigtsen. Photo: Thomas Fure / NTB – Gjert knows very well that athletes at this level are on a knife edge when it comes to load. The less recovery you get, the more the likelihood of you get injured, Tjørhom said, adding: “It is difficult for me to prove, but I clearly believe that he is fully aware of it. Through all the noise he creates. When Filip Ingebrigtsen explained in court, Gjert Ingebrigtsen commented on his motivation to continue as a coach: – It is sad that they mistreat my motivation as a coach. To destroy and sabotage for my children … I wish my children all the best, he said at the time. Gjert Ingebrigtsen is charged with abuse in close relationships. He denies criminal charges and rejects all charges. – Trained to stay distance when Jacob came up in his teens, Tjørhom became involved in his career as well. He highlighted a situation from the Diamond League in 2024. The brothers had presented a desire for distance from their former coach. – Then I was over there. I knew Gjert was going to be there. He told Sports Manager Erlend Slokvik that I refused him to get accreditation, Tjørhom explained. Håvard Tjørhom on the way to testify in court. Photo: Syed Ali Shahbaz Akhtar / news Gjert Ingebrigtsen was present as coach for Per Svela, who would also compete. Tjørhom claimed that he did not work against the defendant getting accreditation. – I had not tried to put any obstacle in the way for him to get accreditation. But I had taken my precautions that Jacob would not have to see Gjert. Tjørhom explained that Gjert Ingebrigtsen should have tried to provoke a meeting with his son Jakob Ingebrigtsen. – Gjert stands at a point in a narrow staircase. Because he knows that there is a point where Jacob will eventually come. I felt that he was standing in the stairs there. Open, Tjørhom said. – On the way home, I regretted this for Jacob. I think I had failed in a task I had wanted to get. Then Jacob replied: “From the age of 11 years, I have trained to keep away from that man and close him outside, so it went just fine.” Gjert Ingebrigtsen commented on this incident like this: – If I have been in a staircase where someone was going, it has been completely unknown to me before he tells it now. So I have to complain, in case I have done the best I can to avoid. He also said that for the past three years he had tried not to be present where his children were, unless he had to follow up Narve. “Sometimes you have to be where you have to be,” Gjert said. – Demanding prosecutor Ellen Gimre asked Tjørhom to describe Gjert Ingebrigtsen as a person. Tjørhom replied that Gjert had a huge work capacity, he was very much, and had a lot of thoughts on everything about training and competitions. – We had many fun and good conversation, but he was demanding to relate to since everything happened on his premises, and depended on his day form and mood. The conversations often started with “now everything is wrong”. Gjert is a very honest person, but can also be perceived as hurtful, Tjørhom said. “A Lakei” Gjert Ingebrigtsen pulled out Tjørhom, during his explanation earlier in the trial. He described Tjørhom as “a lackei” for the brothers Ingebrigtsen, and that he facilitated bullying and harassing others for a long time. There was also conflict between Tjørhom and Gjert Ingebrigtsen student Narve Gilje Nordås before the European Championships in cross-country skiing in November 2024. The reason was that Filip Ingebrigtsen was removed instead of Per Svela. So Nordås withdrew and fired against the union. The defenders of Gjert Ingebrigtsen believe that the conflict between Narve Gilje Nordås and the runner brothers Henrik, Filip and Jakob Ingebrigtsen is important to the case because, in their opinion, it may explain why the brothers first in October 2023 chose to go out with the story of their childhood and childhood. This happened in the form of a chronicle in VG, and was almost two years after the conflicts began to peak seriously in the family. When Narve Gilje Nordås testified in court, he talked about how the relationship between him and the Ingebrigtsen brothers became increasingly cooler throughout 2023. The brothers were then stated that Gilje Nordås continued as Gjert Ingebrigtsen’s pupil long after they themselves had broken their father as coach. The conflict came to the surface for the first time when Henrik Ingebrigtsen at a training camp in January should have refused Narve to sit at the same table as them. During the athletics World Cup, the relationship between the Narve and the Ingebrigtsen brothers was at the freezing point. During the final of the 1500 meters, he was close to gathering Jacob on the finish line. Published 29.04.2025, at. 10.40 Updated 29.04.2025, at. 10.47
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