Olympic track star Andre De Grasse distracted by abuse allegations against his coach
SAINT-DENIS, France — Canadian sprinter and defending Olympic champion in the 200, Andre De Grasse, attempted to defend his title Wednesday while his coach Rana Reider is embroiled in controversy.
De Grasse finished third in the first heat of the men’s 200 semifinal and failed to qualify for the final at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Following the race, De Grasse said he ran with a painful and inflamed hamstring after an ultrasound earlier this week showed he aggravated an old injury. When asked directly if the allegations of abuse levied against his coach also were a distraction, he said, "Yea, of course."
“I try to keep my head and stay mentally strong. It’s always tough not having your coach out there with you,” De Grasse told reporters. “He kind of leads you through these Games, and been with him all year. It’s definitely a tough one.”
The Canadian Olympic Committee revoked the accreditation of Reider, De Grasse's personal coach, for the Olympic team amid recent allegations of sexual and emotional abuse. Reider also coaches Italian Olympian Marcell Jacobs and American Trayvon Bromell.
Three lawsuits have been filed in Broward County, Florida against Reider and the track club he runs, which are among a list of other defendants.
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The first complaint, filed in December 2023, lists the plaintiff as Jane Doe and includes an allegation of rape. The other two cases were filed in June by a 35-year-old retired long jumper from Great Britain and a 28-year-old American sprinter, who allege Reider sexually harassed them by grabbing their buttocks or making suggestive comments about their appearances, among other claims.
USA TODAY Sports does not identify individuals who allege sexual abuse without their permission. Court documents list AXS Law Group as attorneys of record for Reider in one of the three Florida lawsuits, and the attorneys did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The attorney representing Reider on his accreditation revocation, Ryan Stevens, published a statement decrying a lack of due process and the absence of formal investigatory findings to support the Canadian Olympic Committee's action.
"It's a bad day for the Olympics when a governing body's fear of bad publicity is prioritized over the athletes," Stevens said.
De Grasse said he knew nothing about the allegations until he was informed this week.
“I knew nothing about it. It kind of just sprung on me the same time you guys knew,” De Grasse said to reporters. “It’s kind of a tough one to swallow. To know about that right before you’re about to run. It’s pretty tough.”
De Grasse said while he’s had success on the track with Reider, he’s going to “reevaluate” his personal coaching situation after the Olympics.
“I won the Olympics with him. He's been my coach for the past three years. I won a lot of world championship medals and Olympic medals,” De Grasse said. “Of course, everything that happened is kind of crazy. I don’t know what to think of it. I don’t know. I kind of just have to reevaluate after the games.”
Contributing: Chase Goodbread