At left, coach Rana Reider in Rome, on May 15, and at right, Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse competing in the men’s 100-metre semifinals on Aug. 4 in the Olympic Games. Reider is now being sued in Florida by three athletes who used to train under him.Alessandra Tarantino/Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
The CEO of Athletics Canada says his organization became aware that allegations had been made against the coach of Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse on Saturday night and by late Sunday night had asked the Canadian Olympic Committee to revoke Rana Reider’s accreditation for the Paris Summer Games.
Mathieu Gentès told The Globe and Mail Tuesday that World Athletics, the sport’s governing body, contacted the Canadian federation with concerns over Mr. Reider’s presence at the Games on Saturday. But World Athletics didn’t specify why it was concerned about Mr. Reider being accredited by the Canadian team. Mr. Gentès said that on Sunday evening he received an e-mail from United States Track and Field, detailing new information against Mr. Reider. That prompted the call to the COC.
The coach had previously admitted to a consensual relationship with an athlete he’d coached, and was given a penalty of one year probation, which started in May, 2023. He was not barred from coaching during that time.
But Mr. Reider is now being sued in Florida by three athletes who used to train under him. The allegations against the coach include sexual assault, sexual harassment and verbal harassment. The allegations have not been tested in court and Mr. Reider has not been charged with any crime. Mr. Gentès said Athletics Canada had been unaware of the three lawsuits or the specific allegations they contained until Sunday, which is when some media began reporting on them.
Mr. Gentès would not confirm that the details of the civil suits match the information shared by USATF on Sunday evening, but said Athletics Canada hadn’t previously been aware of the new accusations contained in the e-mail, and Mr. Gentès immediately asked the COC to revoke the credential.
Mr. Gentès also said the USATF has not responded to his follow-up requests for more clarity on the matter.
“But there was enough in the document to raise concerns,” said Mr. Gentès. “We sent this to the COC, saying this might change things.”
Mr. Reider’s expulsion from the Olympics took place days before Mr. De Grasse, arguably Canada’s most recognizable male Olympian, was set to begin his defence of the gold medal in the 200-metre, which he won at the Tokyo Games.
Mr. Gentès said the process to accredit Mr. Reider, who also coaches Lamont Marcell Jacobs, an Italian who won the 100-metre at Tokyo, began in the spring. Mr. Reider was vetted by the COC, according to Mr. Gentès, and since he was no longer under any sanctions related to the consensual relationship, the COC felt comfortable accrediting him. The Italian Olympic Committee declined to comment.
Mr. Gentès said his organization did not intervene when Mr. De Grasse indicated that he would resume working with Mr. Reider in the fall of 2023.
The two had previously worked together from 2018 to 2022.
“Andre is not a young athlete and he’s an adult, he can make adult decisions,” Mr. Gentès said.
World Athletics said in a statement that it was not involved in the accreditation process for the Paris Games.
“This was a matter for the Canadian Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee. World Athletics takes its responsibilities to safeguard our athletes extremely seriously and has robust policies in place,” Jamie Fox, World Athletics director of communications, told The Globe on Tuesday.
Athletics Canada head coach Glenroy Gilbert told reporters at the Stade de France Tuesday evening the decision to accredit Mr. Reider, who was under no sanctions, was straightforward.
“Our coaches are screened, and that’s essentially what we did. We went through all the checks and balances and all those things checked out,” Mr. Gilbert said.
“That’s why we did what we did in terms of accrediting Rana as a personal coach.”
Mr. Gilbert said coaches working with Athletics Canada athletes go through a “stringent” background check every year.
“Rana was clear,” Mr. Gilbert said. “Had no sanctions, no suspensions against him when we accredited him.”
Mr. De Grasse did not compete on Tuesday, so he was not at the stadium and did not provide comment on the matter. His next race is the men’s 200-metre semifinal on Wednesday.
“He coaches our top sprinter,” Mr. Gilbert added. “Our focus is on performance. And [for] Andre’s coach we’re going do whatever we can to [have him] accredited within the boundaries of what we do.”
Mr. De Grasse receives funding from both Athletics Canada’s Enhanced Excellence program and the federal government’s athlete carding program, but the organization has no financial agreement in place with Mr. Reider.
Mr. De Grasse is in the middle of his competition schedule at the Paris Olympics, with two of his events still to go at Stade de France. The Canadian sprinter aims to defend his Olympic title in the 200-metre and help Canada’s men’s 4x100-metre relay team return to the podium.
He still has his long-time physical therapist here, who is familiar with his warmup protocols, plus two Athletics Canada staff coaches.
Mr. Gilbert insisted the even-keeled sprinter does not seem distracted by the ousting of his coach in the middle of his biggest meet.
“He knows how to turn it off and turn it on, and switch focus on things that he needs to focus on,” Mr. Gilbert said. “Right now, it’s performance.”
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