US sprint coach Lana Ryder has been banned from the Olympics after reports emerged over the weekend alleging sexual and emotional abuse by three female athletes in a lawsuit filed in Florida.
He coached sprinters Marcel Jacobs (Italy) and Andre de Grasse (Canada) at the Paris Olympics.
Ryder is accredited by the Canadian Olympic Committee and his lawyer, Ryan Stevens, was told Monday that the committee plans to send a formal letter to revoke his accreditation. The Guardian reported.
This incident happened the next day. The Times published the report. USA Track and Field only provided information to its Canadian counterparts on Sunday after learning that he had been certified to compete in the Olympics in a lawsuit filed by the 54-year-old Florida coach.
According to reports, the lawsuit was filed against Ryder in Broward County by three women, naming two of the three plaintiffs.
One alleges that Ryder sexually and emotionally abused and harassed her, while the other alleges that the coach sexually and verbally harassed them.
In comments to the Guardian, Stevens said Ryder was “wrongfully stripped of his Olympic coaching licence based on a years-old lawsuit brought by former athletes seeking financial gain”.
USA Track and Field, Ryder’s Tumbleweed Track Club, Puma, Adidas and Ryder’s company are also named as defendants in the suit.
Canada had been under scrutiny for several days by World Athletics, which had questioned Ryder’s certification decision after he was placed on 12 months’ probation by the US SafeSport for a “power imbalance” with one of its athletes. According to The Guardian.
The paper also reported that in response to the new allegations, USA Track and Field has announced indefinite safety measures, including banning riders from one-on-one coaching any athletes and requiring them to be accompanied by a chaperone.
Ryder was denied eligibility for the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships and received a warning from police in 2022 for entering an athletes’ warm-up area without authorisation.
Stephens told the Guardian that there are currently no sanctions against Ryder from the US Centre for SafeSport, USA Track and Field or Athletics Canada.
“The people who are suffering in this are the athletes, including one of Canada’s most accomplished sprinters, who were suddenly forced to compete without a coach of their choosing,” Stevens added.
