During a lunch break in the Sierra Nevada in Spain, Ingebrigtsen is said to have stated that Nordås could not sit at the same table and demanded that he leave the area reserved for the Norwegian team.

This inevitably caused others to leave the area in sympathy with Nordås.

During the world track and field championships this summer, several months after the training camp, the tension between the parties became clear to everyone. Several jabs were sent through the media, and Henrik Ingebrigtsen called Nordås “disrespectful”.

When the union was notified of the incident in the Sierra Nevada, they felt compelled to follow up with the parties. This was confirmed by sports director Erlend Slokvik at the Norwegian Athletics Federation.

NRK has spoken to a number of sources who were in the Sierra Nevada at the same time. Some claim there are clear divisions in the Norwegian athletics camp.

Ingebrigtsen: “Cook soup with nails”

Nordås – who is coached by Gjert Ingebrigtsen – confirmed to NRK that an untoward incident had occurred, but did not wish to comment further on what happened.

Henrik Ingebrigtsen answered this when NRK confronted him with the accusation:

– It’s obviously easy and motivating to make a storm in a glass of water at times like this, or boil soup with nails if you like, but I don’t want to contribute to that. The situation you refer to from January concerns agreements made that were not adhered to, where this has been pointed out to us and the matter has been resolved. I already discussed this with the association afterwards, wrote Ingebrigtsen in a text message, which ended as follows:

– I think the case is dead, and I don’t want to speculate on who or why someone would be motivated to bring it up again now, and make it a bigger deal than it already is.

The Slokvik sports manager confirmed that the association had been involved in the handling of the incident between Ingebrigtsen and Nordås. However, he would not call it a notice issue or a personnel matter.

– It’s an internal problem. Internal disagreements about how things should go, Slokvik said.

– This can be solved in another way. You can talk better together, he said further.

Take action after the incident

According to Slokvik, the case was immediately followed up in Sierra Nevada.

– Has the problem been resolved?

– Yes, it’s resolved there.

– So there’s been a deal there (in the Sierra Nevada)?

– No, not necessarily. We also talked about it afterwards. But at least action has been taken in light of what happened there, he said.

The sports director said they had followed up the case in accordance with the association’s rules of the game and summarized everything as follows:

– There was a discussion about a small matter which was then followed up. But it’s important to say that no notification was sent, Slokvik said.

Cool conditions throughout the season

At the Bislett Games in June, you could see that the relationship was cool after the 1500 meter run. Jakob Ingebrigtsen won with a new European record, while Nordås became the second fastest Norwegian over the distance.

TV images showed Henrik Ingebrigtsen walking between his younger brother and Nordås, as they shook hands after the race.

During the World Championships in athletics in August, Nordås chose to stay in a different hotel from the rest of the national team. Coach Gjert Ingebrigtsen did not receive accreditation, which led to training partner Per Svela taking on the task of following up.

Throughout the championship, there was as much distance between Nordås and brothers Jakob and Henrik Ingebrigtsen as could be seen. On the warm-up track, the former and Svela did not stay in the Norwegian athlete’s tent.

When Jakob Ingebrigtsen fell ill during the WC, Henrik Ingebrigtsen launched a tirade against the management of the athletics association.

The next day he admitted he had gone too far in his criticism VG.

For the past year, Ingebrigtsen has acted as coordinator with his younger brother Jakob under the auspices of the athletics association. He recently told NRK that he wants to continue.

He has not yet entered the national team. The 32-year-old, after participating in the World Cup and setting personal records in the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters, may be eligible for a spot before next season.

The 2024 national team season will be announced publicly on Tuesday 17 October.

When asked if it had any impact and what impact the incident in the Sierra Nevada might have had on Ingebrigtsen, Slokvik replied:

– We have followed up with the parties involved and there is nothing more to say about it.

– Are all parties satisfied with the way the union is handling this issue?

– Yes, as I understand it, Narve has been well looked after considering what happened there, if you think about it.

Must be in training camp at the same time

Nordås was previously part of the training group of the Ingebrigtsen brothers, during which they were all trained by Gjert Ingebrigtsen.

In early 2022, the brothers broke off their collaboration with the coach’s father. Since then, Gjert Ingebrigtsen has been responsible for, among others, coaching Nordås and Per Svela, with whom Nordås in particular has made great progress.

With bronze in the 1500 meters at this summer’s WC, Nordås showed that he is one of Norway’s leading medalists ahead of the EC and next summer’s Olympics. The road to get there includes passing several high points.

Sierra Nevada has become a favorite place for Norwegian athletes in recent years, with top-notch sports facilities and an associated hotel with 89 rooms at an altitude of 2,320 meters.

Sports manager Slokvik confirmed that Nordås is scheduled to be at Sierra Nevada alongside Henrik and Jakob Ingebrigtsen over the next few months.

– They have slightly different travel times in different groups. But for a certain period of time, everyone will be there.

– How is it handled?

– There is control over that, so we’ve talked about how to solve it. Succeed. They had attended a convention at the same time, so it was being followed up.