US Biathlon officials ignored sexual harassment and abuse of female racers for decades, say athletes
Turning a blind eye in pursuit of elusive Olympic medals, athletes say two coaches prey on teenage Maine biathlete, she says, ‘What comes next?’
Sexual abuse and harassment by coaches and others who held positions of power over women on the U.S. Biathlon team have been dismissed, ignored or excused over decades by officials more concerned with winning medals than holding offenders accountable, according to a half-dozen former Olympians and other biathletes.
And while the men involved climbed the ranks of the sport, these women — who described a culture of abuse dating back to the 1990s — told The Associated Press they were forced to end their racing careers early.
One coach resigned after the young biathlete he was accused of sexually abusing attempted suicide, but he was later hired to coach the U.S. Paralympic team.
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Max Cobb, who the women say was informed but failed to address the claims, went from U.S. domestic team manager to CEO of the U.S. Biathlon Association and is now secretary general of the International Biathlon Union, the worldwide governing body of the sport, which combines cross-country skiing on trails with target shooting.
Two male coaches and a former racer on the men’s biathlon team confirmed the culture of misogyny described by the women, who all said they faced retaliation for speaking up.
“My safety on the team was clearly secondary to a top-down power structure focused on image, medals and marketing,” said two-time Olympian Joan Wilder, 58, who said her coach got away with trying to sexually assault her in 1990 despite her complaints to Cobb.
Grace Boutot, a 2009 Youth World Championship silver medalist, said her reports to Cobb and other officials about abuse committed by two coaches, beginning when she was 15, also went unheeded, eventually leading to a suicide attempt.
“U.S. Biathlon leadership always seems to choose to support the predators instead of the person who was abused,” the now 33-year-old Boutot said.
The women came forward after AP reported that Olympian Joanne Reid was sexually abused and harassed for years, according to findings by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, a watchdog group created to investigate sex-abuse allegations in Olympic sports in the aftermath of the Larry Nassar U.S. Gymnastics scandal.
However, an independent investigation ordered by U.S. Biathlon into team culture and safety following the AP report found biathletes faced “misogynistic” behavior while racing and feared retaliation if they came forward with their concerns.
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The assessment by outside auditor Vestry Laight, released last week, said the athletes surveyed described a sport “dominated by men who have a very different outlook on how to treat women” and criticised the “lack of attention paid to create a respectful environment.”
Biathlon officials said they were adopting an “action plan” in response to the auditor’s report, including workshops with staff and athletes to define core values and create a way to measure progress.
SafeSport interviews also confirmed the sexualised atmosphere. U.S. Biathlon team psychologist Sean McCann described “a European boys club culture” in the watchdog group’s 2022 report on the Reid case, with some men sharing sexual comments and other explicit content on a private WhatsApp group.
Biathlon is the only winter sport for which the U.S. has never won an Olympic medal. Desperate to excel in the European-dominated sport, U.S. officials hired European coaches and staff, and turned a blind eye when women raised claims of sexual harassment or abuse on the team, all those interviewed said.