British athletics is facing a worrying growth in the number of sexual abuse cases involving its coaches, it was claimed last night, after one of the country’s leading trainers was banned from coaching for seven years. The ban by the sport’s governing body, UK Athletics, follows accusations that Joe Sweeney, a former British triple jumper, physically and sexually abused female athletes he worked with. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children claimed the case involving Sweeney, who was found guilty yesterday of “engaging in inappropriate encounters with young vulnerable female athletes under his care”, was just one of a number UK Athletics is currently handling. It is believed that at least six cases of sexual abuse by coaches are currently being investigated by the NSPCC….

The Guardian