Canadian Olympic Committee revokes accreditation from Andre De Grasse’s coach

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) says it has revoked accreditation for the coach of six-time Olympic medal-winning sprinter Andre De Grasse.

The COC said Tuesday that “new information” has emerged about the appropriateness of accrediting Rana Reider.

The organization said Reider was on probation with the U.S. Center for SafeSport until May, and the decision to accredit him was based on the understanding that he had no other suspensions or sanctions against him. 

The probation was for a “consensual romantic relationship with an adult athlete, which presented a power imbalance.”

The COC did not specify the nature of the new information but did say that Reider was accredited only as a personal coach with access to athletic warm-up and training areas. 

U.K. media outlets have reported the decision is tied to safeguarding concerns and allegations of sexual and emotional abuse, and court documents filed in Broward County, Florida, show three women filing suit against Reider there.

The allegations against Reider have not been proven in court, and he has not been charged with a crime.

Reider’s lawyer criticized the decision in a statement, per Lori Ewing of Reuters.

“It’s a bad day for the Olympics when a governing body’s fear of bad publicity is prioritized over the athletes,” lawyer Ryan Stevens said. “Reider has no pending sanctions against him by any governing body.

“The ones who are being hurt in all of this are the athletes suddenly forced to compete without their chosen coach, including one of Canada’s finest sprinters.”

Reuters reported De Grasse worked with Reider from 2018 to 2022, a stretch highlighted by his gold-medal run in the 200 metres at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Reuters reported that after a brief split, De Grasse started working with Reider again nine months ago in Florida.

Reider also coaches 2021 Olympic 100-metre champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy.

De Grasse was eliminated in the 100-metre semifinals on Sunday. On Monday, he advanced to Wednesday’s 200-metre semifinals.

The Reider development is the second instance of coaching removal for the COC at these Olympics.

In the early days of the Games, the COC sent home women’s soccer team coach Bev Priestman, an assistant coach and an analyst for a drone spying scandal.

With files from Sportsnet staff