Sprint coach Rana Reider gets probation for sexual misconduct

On May 10, U.S. Center for SafeSport has resolved the case with high-profile sprint coach Rana Reider. Reider, who is Andre De Grasse’s former coach, admitted to having an intimate but consensual relationship with an 18-year-old female athlete, and that this presented a power imbalance. He was not found in violation of any other sexual misconduct claims for which he was under investigation.

A statement by Reider’s lawyer, Ryan Stevens, said the American coach will be placed on one-year probation by SafeSport and ordered to take an online course on SafeSport Education. Reider will be allowed to continue his elite-level coaching of sprinters and jumpers.

The 52-year-old, who had been the subject of an 18-month investigation into multiple complaints of sexual misconduct, was formally sanctioned by the U.S. Center for SafeSport on Wednesday. All other claims are now administratively closed, according to the statement. 

The violation occurred in 2014 when Reider was 44 and had an affair with a young athlete he was coaching at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Eugene, Ore.

“From the beginning, we demanded this case to be properly vetted,” said Stevens. “Rana was candid and co-operative. His stellar reputation in track and field is now restored.”

Reider previously coached high-profile athletes with his Tumbleweed Track Club in Jacksonville, Fla., including the 200m Olympic gold medallist De Grasse,in addition to U.S. sprinter Trayvon Bromell, disgraced sprinter Blessing Okagbare and British sprinters Adam Gemili and Daryll Neita (who won bronze in the women’s 4x100m relay at Tokyo 2020).

During Reider’s investigation and Okagbare’s doping scandal, De Grasse, Bromell and Neita all changed coaches heading into the 2023 season. De Grasse is now coached by Irish sprint coach John Coghlan in Orlando, Fla., training alongside his wife, U.S. hurdler Nia Ali.

posted Friday May 12th
by Marley Dickinson