Gold medallist’s coach banned from Olympics for alleged abuse

Tokyo 2020 100m gold medal winner Marcel Jacobs’ coach has been expelled from the Olympics following accusations of a b u s e.

The coach, Rana Reider, has been ejected from the Paris Olympics following reports from three women that he s e x u a l l y and emotionally a b u s e d them, per The Daily Mail.

Per The Times, the three women have filed lawsuits against Reider in Florida, leading to his Olympic accreditation being stripped.

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Reider, who coaches both Jacobs and Andre De Grasse, was given his accreditation by the Canadian Olympic Committee. Following the filing, USA Track and Field alerted their Canadian counterparts who removed him from their team immediately, per The Daily Mail.

The Canadian team put out an official statement reading, “On Sunday, August 4, we received new information regarding the eligibility of the Canadian team to continue Mr. Reider's accreditation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Following discussions with the Canadian Athletics Association, it has been decided that Mr Reider's accreditation will be revoked.”

This news comes after Reider has already been banned from the previous two World Championships, with accusations ongoing.

Reider has recently served a 12-month probation period after, admitting to an “imbalance of power” in an intimate relationship with an athlete he used to coach, per The Daily Mail.

The accusations leveled at Reider are serious, with one woman claiming, “the pattern of s e x u a l assault and emotional a b u s e began at the age of 17 and continued for six years, resulting in two s u i c i d e attempts and psychiatric hospitalisation,” per Inside The Games.

Reider’s lawyer responded, “It's a sad day for the Olympics when a governing body puts the fear of bad publicity ahead of the athletes.” Before suggesting the real victims are the athletes his client coaches, “The injured parties in all of this are the athletes who are suddenly forced to compete without their coach of choice, including one of Canada's top sprinters.”

Reider’s presence track-side for the men’s 100m final on Sunday night could be seen as a black mark at what has otherwise been a fantastic Olympics. 

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