Laura Muir’s ex-coach banned from athletics after being found guilty of serious misconduct

Andy Young, who used to coach British athletes Laura Muir and Jemma Reekie, has been banned from athletics for three years after a disciplinary panel found him guilty of nine charges

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Andy Young, a former coach of Laura Muir, has been banned from athletics for three years after being found guilty of serious misconduct.

UK Athletics (UKA) has announced that a disciplinary panel had found Young – who was Muir's coach when she won Olympic 1500 metres silver in Tokyo in 2021 – guilty of nine charges out of 39 he had faced, seven of them serious.

The panel's written decision of October 2024 was appealed, with an appeal panel confirming the original panel's findings in full in August but varying the initial sanction from five years to three years, backdated to April 2023. The original panel concluded Young had placed performance above athlete welfare, UKA said, and had ignored medical advice and used manipulative and coercive behaviour towards those he coached.

UKA said Muir waived her anonymity to confirm her involvement in the case, although athletes have not been named in relation to specific charges within the findings. Muir and Jemma Reekie split from Young after a warm-weather camp in South Africa in 2023.

Among the misconduct found proven by the independent panels was that, following a disagreement with one athlete, Young drove at speed with the athlete in his car then abandoned them by the roadside. He was also found to have required an athlete to compete against a physiotherapist's advice and emotionally undermining those who raised concerns about injuries.

As well as the backdated three-year ban, Young is required to complete training on athlete welfare, medical collaboration, injury management, bullying and harassment.

Muir said: "I fully support the decisions reached by both independent panels and I am grateful that the process has been followed through so thoroughly. I want to thank those who came forward and those who contributed to the process - it has not been easy, but it was necessary.

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"Athletics has always been my passion, and I am pleased to say that I have rediscovered the love of my sport and the enjoyment of training and working within a supportive and positive coaching environment. I am now focused on the future, looking forward to the next few years of my career, and putting this difficult chapter firmly behind me."

UKA chief executive Jack Buckner said: "This has been a difficult and sobering case for everyone involved in athletics. There is no level of success on the track which can ever justify behaviours that fall so short of the standards required of a UKA-licensed coach.

"This case underlines that performance and medals can never come at the expense of athlete welfare. Significant culture change has already taken place within UKA. The emphasis on welfare and respect has been further driven from the leadership of Paula Dunn and the performance team.

"We have strengthened reporting systems, expanded welfare support, and ensured independent expertise and support is available when concerns are raised. We are grateful to the athletes who showed courage in coming forward - their actions have ensured that unacceptable conduct has been exposed and addressed."