Coach of an Olympic champion suspended for life, due to inappropriate sexual behavior
Tony Minichiello, who took athlete Jessica Ennis-Hill to gold at the 2012 London Olympics, was found guilty of harassment and "inappropriately and unwanted touching of athletes".
Athletics expert Tony Minichiello, who coached Britain's Jessica Ennis-Hill to a gold medal in the heptathlon at the London 2012 Olympics, has been banned for life from the sport after the British Athletics Commission found he had an inappropriate sexual behavior.
Minichiello made "inappropriate sexual remarks", did not respect the athletes' right to private life, was guilty of harassment and "inappropriately and unwantedly touched the athletes", the commission found.
Among the accusations that the commission found proven are touching the breasts of two female athletes, gestures of simulating a sexual act in relation to three other female athletes and other abuses of a similar nature.
A charge of emotional abuse was upheld because Minichiello ordered a female athlete to sit in the corner with a cone on her head as a hat.
Minichiello rose to fame as the coach of Ennis-Hill, who was one of the stars of London 2012 by winning gold in the heptathlon. With Minichiello as her coach, she also won a silver medal at the Rio 2016 IOC and three world titles.
