Ingebrigtsen trial ends with the father of the famous running brothers given a 15-day suspended sentence

Gjert Ingebrigtsen, father of Olympic 5000m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, has been found guilty of hitting his daughter, Ingrid, with a wet towel and given a 15-day suspended sentence.

At the conclusion of a much-publicised trial in Norway, Gjert was acquitted of similar charges against Jakob after a court found there was “reasonable doubt” about the accusations.

Prosecutors had recommended that Gjert receive a jail sentence of two-and-a-half years for physically and verbally abusing Jakob and his younger sister, Ingrid.

Jakob said during the trial: “It is embarrassing to be a victim of domestic violence. I know what I have experienced with the defendant since I was a little boy and I have had no motives for lying. It is embarrassing to be a victim for our family and it does not fit into the image you have of yourself and your family. We will all carry baggage with us from this trial.”

Gjert had told the court that a red mark on Ingrid’s face in a photograph taken after the alleged towel hitting incident may have been caused by a skin condition such as acne.

“The situation was heated,” Gjert said. “Ugly things were said in loud voices. There was a reaction from me that was not very good on my part, I can’t say anything more.”

He added: “I still have no recollection of having beaten Jakob or ­anyone else – either in my household or others."

Gjert also denied claims that he kicked Jakob after he fell off a scooter when he was eight or nine years old. “It is completely unthinkable that I would have kicked him,” he said. “It is completely out of the question to kick one of my children.”

Ingrid, who left the family home aged 15 after a series of incidents, was awarded compensation of 10,000 Norwegian kroner (£744) by the court.

Gjert accepted that he had been demanding while coaching his three sons, Jakob, Henrik and Filip, to international titles but the 59-year-old denied the allegations of abuse.