Andy Young was guilty on nine charges after actions including abandoning an athlete at the roadside and making injured runners race
Laura Muir’s former coach Andy Young has been banned from athletics for three years after being found guilty of serious misconduct and using “manipulative and coercive behaviour” against athletes.
Young, who guided Muir to Olympic and World Championship medals, was guilty of a number of charges, including driving at speed with an athlete in his car following an argument before abandoning them at the roadside and making an injured runner compete in a race.
UK Athletics (UKA) announced that a disciplinary panel had found Young, who was named coach of the year by British Athletics in 2016, guilty of nine charges out of 39 he had faced, seven of them serious.
The panel’s written decision of October 2024 was appealed, with an appeal panel confirming the original panel’s findings in full in August but reducing the initial sanction from five years to three years, backdated to April 2023.
The original panel concluded Young had placed performance above athlete welfare, UKA said, and had ignored medical advice and used manipulative and coercive behaviour towards those he coached.
He once drove at speed before leaving an athlete by the side of the road following a disagreement after he had made a comment about their weight. It also found he had defied the advice of a physiotherapist while instructing an athlete to race. “Nah, be fine, just race,” Young told the athlete.
“The panel accepts the evidence of Athlete C, Athlete F and from other witnesses that Mr Young could be very forceful to the point of exerting pressure so severe that it amounted to manipulation or bullying,” said the panel in its findings. “This resulted in athletes feeling that they had no realistic option but to acquiesce to his wishes if they wished to remain within his training group.”
UKA said Muir waived her anonymity to confirm her involvement in the case, although athletes have not been named in relation to specific charges within the findings.
Muir and fellow GB athlete Jemma Reekie split from Young after a warm-weather camp in South Africa in 2023.
As well as the backdated three-year ban, Young is required to complete training on athlete welfare, medical collaboration, injury management, bullying and harassment.
Muir said: “I fully support the decisions reached by both independent panels and I am grateful that the process has been followed through so thoroughly.
“I want to thank those who came forward and those who contributed to the process – it has not been easy, but it was necessary.
“Athletics has always been my passion, and I am pleased to say that I have rediscovered the love of my sport and the enjoyment of training and working within a supportive and positive coaching environment.
“I am now focused on the future, looking forward to the next few years of my career, and putting this difficult chapter firmly behind me.”
UKA chief executive Jack Buckner said: “This has been a difficult and sobering case for everyone involved in athletics. There is no level of success on the track which can ever justify behaviours that fall so short of the standards required of a UKA-licensed coach.
“This case underlines that performance and medals can never come at the expense of athlete welfare. Significant culture change has already taken place within UKA. The emphasis on welfare and respect has been further driven from the leadership of Paula Dunn and the performance team.
“We have strengthened reporting systems, expanded welfare support, and ensured independent expertise and support is available when concerns are raised.
“We are grateful to the athletes who showed courage in coming forward - their actions have ensured that unacceptable conduct has been exposed and addressed.”
Additional reporting by PA
Category: General Sports
