Races, rows and family feuds – Ingebrigtsen is the ultimate athlete for a social media age

The 24-year-old Norwegian middle-distance ­runner had just won the 5,000m at the Olympics by 20 metres, his second gold medal after winning the 1,500m in Tokyo three years before.

That image captured what Ingebrigtsen represents to many people in the world of athletics – dominant, good-looking, confident, cocky, even arrogant.

He is the ultimate athlete for the social media age. The barbs that have been traded between him and British middle-distance runner Josh Kerr have done more to draw ­attention to the sport than anything a ­governing body has managed in the past few years.

His YouTube ­videos about his lifestyle and training ­regularly ­garner 100,000 views. He has 775,000 ­followers on Instagram, six times more than American ­athlete Cole Hocker, who won the ­dramatically contested 1,500m race in Paris.

It is unsurprising how well-suited he has been to the spotlight, given that from the age of 15 he was thrust into public attention as part of “Team Ingebrigtsen”.

The ­documentary series that focused on Jakob and his brothers Henrik and Filip gave the whole of Norway a behind-the-scenes look at one of their most accomplished sporting families, and turned the Ingebrigtsens into ­household names. It also gave an insight into the intensity of their coach and father, Gjert, who this week was found guilty of hitting his ­daughter Ingrid with a towel.

He received a ­suspended 15-day prison sentence but was cleared of charges relating to the physical and verbal abuse of Jakob.

The Ingebrigtsens had stopped being coached by their father in 2022, ending a 10-year ­association that had become known for the famous “double threshold” method which means athletes do two threshold workouts – where you are running at or just below the point where your body is producing lactic acid – a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

They released a statement in October 2023 saying that Gjert had taken “the joy out of the sport they once loved” as well as accusing him of “aggression, control, and physical violence”.

He ended up being charged in November 2024.In the ensuing court case, both Jakob and Ingrid testified to their experiences with their father over a number of years.

“My upbringing was largely shaped by fear,” said Jakob. “I consciously ­distanced myself from anything that could potentially lead to a confrontational situation with my father.”

He detailed numerous instances of aggression throughout his childhood including being kicked in the stomach and slapped in the face. The moment where Ingrid was slapped in the face with a towel came after she had wanted to go out to meet a friend.

When Gjert told her she couldn’t and put his finger in her face, she pushed it away, prompting her father to hit her with the towel in his hand.“I wouldn’t say it’s the violence [that is the worst part],” she said. “It’s bad but I don’t think it can compare to the mental toll over many years. The fear you live with in your own home.”

The court found Gjert guilty of hitting Ingrid, but not of abusing Jakob.The incident with Ingrid was described as being “proven beyond reasonable doubt” but despite Jakob and his brothers giving ­“credible statements”, the “overall weight of the statements… means that the court must conclude that there is ­reasonable doubt about the ­defendant’s guilt” in relation to the abuse of Jakob.

During the trial, the court was played a recording of Jakob and his father arguing at a training camp in St Moritz in 2019. In reviewing it, the report said: “It must be emphasised that Jakob shows no sign of fear or submission towards the defendant. He stands his ground and retaliates against the defendant’s verbal abuse.”

The commentary on Jakob and his reaction is intimately tied to his ­public persona. Between the lines hides the question of whether this successful, confident man had really been cowed by his father. Jakob’s reaction to the verdict came on Instagram as he posted a picture with his daughter, who turns one next week.

“I will always be there for her if she needs a hug. I will cheer for her, whatever choice she makes. I will give her space if space is what she asks for. And I will love and respect her unconditionally.”

Photograph by Maja Hitij/Getty Images