Okagbare’s coach sanctioned after relationship with athlete

For men around disgraced sprinter Blessing Okagbare, it's a season of pleading guilty, imprisonments and sanctions.

A few days after Eric Lira plead guilty to supplying Okagbare, Divine Oduduru and other athletes with performance-enhancing drugs,  her Coach Rana Reider has been sanctioned for relationship with one of his athletes.

A statement issued by Reider’s lawyer said that the 52-year-old, who has coached a number of leading British stars, had been placed on probation for a year by the US Center for SafeSport after he admitted to a relationship in which “a power imbalance” existed.

It first emerged in November 2021 that Reider was being investigated by SafeSport — an organisation which addresses abuse of minors and athletes in Olympic sports in the United States — for allegations of sexual misconduct.

Wednesday night the situation was being scrutinised by World Athletics; the Athletics Integrity Unit, which reports to the global governing body; and officials at USA Track and Field (USATF). The Times understands there could be further repercussions for Reider.

Last year he was denied a coaching accreditation to the World Championships in Eugene — where two of his athletes finished on the podium in the men’s 100m — and that may be an option his international and national federations choose to take again.

To the surprise of some observers in the sport, the statement issued by Reider’s Arizona-based lawyer, Ryan Stevens, described Reider as a “renowned” coach whose “stellar reputation in track and field” had been “restored”.

Yet Stevens said: “Mr Reider acknowledged his consensual romantic relationship with an adult athlete, which presented a power imbalance during the relationship. Mr Reider was not found in violation of any other sexual misconduct claims.”

In subsequent correspondence with The Times, Stevens stressed that his client had acknowledged a relationship “with one (and only one) adult athlete”. He then said the power imbalance existed “according to the SafeSport Codes and/or USATF regulations”. He added that Reider had already completed an education course — also a requirement of SafeSport — and would be able to continue coaching unsupervised.

The Center for SafeSport has yet to release a statement beyond saying that it “does not discuss matters to protect the integrity of its investigative processes”. World Athletics is yet to receive any communication from the Center. The Athletics Integrity Unit added that it would also “consider the matter”, while a statement from USATF is expected in the next 24 hours.

By the time the allegations emerged in 2021, Reider’s training group had already been rocked by a doping scandal, with Okagbare withdrawn from the women’s 100m at the Tokyo Olympic Games after a positive test for human growth hormone.

Okagbare is serving an 11-year ban, having also tested positive for the blood-boosting drug EPO, with the man who supplied banned drugs to Okagbare and another member of Reider’s group facing up to ten years in jail.

Reider’s group included a number of British stars, and UK Athletics responded to the SafeSport investigation by warning their athletes that they would be removed from the lottery-funded World Class Programme unless they found a new coach. Daryll Neita left immediately, with Adam Gemili eventually doing the same.

More allegations against Reider emerged. The Times revealed that a doctor working with the British team at the World Junior Championships in Eugene in 2014 raised concerns about Reider, then 44 and married, and claims of an intimate relationship with an 18-year-old female athlete.

In an email, seen by this newspaper, the doctor said Reider and the athlete had been seen by staff holding hands, adding that she was being isolated from the group.

There were also claims that she had been seen leaving Reider’s hotel room and was being provided with inappropriate, private therapy sessions.

The doctor compared the behaviour to “grooming”, citing the “power differential” amid concerns that the athlete, while 18, was a “vulnerable adult”.

At the time Reider was contracted to work for UKA as the head of sprints. Months later his contract was not renewed, with UKA admitting last year that officials had failed to properly investigate the matter.

While Reider has long been sponsored by Puma, the German sportswear brand, much of his income comes from the athletes themselves. Many of his major international stars have left him, among them the double Olympic champion Christian Taylor.

But Reider had athletes competing in Eugene last summer and he was cautioned by the local police when he gained unauthorised access to the athlete warm-up area. Last night Puma declined to comment when asked if they would retain Reider as a paid coach.