Allegations of rape at rowing club ‘deeply concerning' say Sport England and UK Sport
Both funding bodies have raised their concerns with British Rowing after the Telegraph reported there had been three separate alleged rape incidents involving male rowers within the past five years at the Leander Club, which supplied more than half of Team GB's rowers at the Paris Olympics.
According to the Telegraph, the women rowers at the club had taken to wearing white ribbons and pink vests in 2024 to protest against what was described as 'the worst-kept secret in British rowing', and that several male members also joined them in protest.
In a statement, Sport England, the funding body of grassroots sport in England, said it had raised the matter with British Rowing and urged the victims to go to the police.
'These are deeply concerning allegations regarding both behaviours and cultures, and our thoughts are with those who have been impacted,' it said. 'It is vital that sports clubs are safe and welcoming, and that all issues are investigated swiftly and properly.
'We encourage any individual who has experienced such behaviour to report directly to the police. Sport England has raised this matter with British Rowing, and we will continue to monitor the situation.'
A similar message was conveyed by UK Sport, which funds elite sport across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 'Our thoughts are with those affected by the allegations which have recently been reported, and we take matters of integrity and safeguarding extremely seriously,' it said.
'We encourage any member of staff or athlete on Olympic and Paralympic performance programmes to report allegations of unacceptable behaviour to Sport Integrity, the confidential reporting line. In light of these deeply concerning allegations, we are in contact with British Rowing.'
In a statement, the Leander Club said it took seriously all issues relating to the safeguarding its athletes. 'We have strict procedures in place to carefully examine any formal complaints and regularly review our club disciplinary processes to ensure they are fit for purpose, treating our athletes fairly and with respect,' it added.
A British Rowing spokesperson said it was not able to comment on individual safeguarding concerns and processes conducted at clubs owing to their confidential nature. 'As such there is a very limited amount that we can say when we are approached in connection with issues that fall into this category,' it added.
'What we are able to say categorically is that the safety of people taking part in our sport is the very first item of importance on our agenda. We investigate anything reported to us fully and comprehensively, as you would expect and as it is our remit to do. This would have been the case if sufficient information had been raised with us to conduct an investigation in respect of the raised allegations.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
28 minutes ago
- The Sun
Britain must hold Emmanuel Macron's feet firmly to the fire over France's abject failure to stop the boats
Time net closed on Macron's failures BRITAIN must hold Emmanuel Macron's feet firmly to the fire this week over France's abject failure to stop the boats. The president will be accorded all the royal trappings on his state visit, including a carriage ride through Windsor. But he must also account for the tens of millions of pounds we have lavished on France to curb illegal migrant crossings — only to see the numbers surge. We reveal today that President Macron will unveil a new tactic to sabotage the dinghies before they leave French waters for the UK. Under the plans, French border police will ride jet skis alongside migrant boats and drop nets to entangle the engines. It does rely on a hitherto reluctant gendarmerie getting their feet wet. But, after the puncturing of a dinghy last week, France may at last be waking up to its responsibilities. Without a proper deterrent like the scrapped Rwanda scheme, the unscrupulous people-smugglers will always try to get one step ahead of the law. But anything that can turn the tide after years of French foot-dragging must be welcome, and one thing is for sure: The cops patrolling the beaches of Calais won't get anywhere unless they do more than just dip a toe in the water. Give us shelter THE Government's latest nanny state health crackdown is one of its strangest yet. Transport chiefs are to be given powers to fine people for vaping at bus stops, even if they are the only person there. French cops FINALLY drag migrant boat to shore - with BBC crew conveniently filming The move comes hard on the heels of Health Secretary Wes Streeting's threats to punish supermarkets that fail to cut sales of unhealthy food. He has already been forced to back down on plans to ban smoking in pub gardens. There is no doubt vaping is bad for children, who should be protected. But adults must be left to make their own informed choices. Labour must stop dreaming up sixth-form gimmicks that are doomed to go up in fruit-flavoured smoke. PIP squeak That means tribunal judges are overturning thousands of Government rulings that would reduce the taxpayer-funded benefits bill.
Reuters
31 minutes ago
- Reuters
Krejcikova rues bad luck after running out of gas in Wimbledon loss
LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) - Barbora Krejcikova's run to the Wimbledon third round reminded her how it felt to compete on the biggest stage without being hampered by injuries but in a cruel twist of fate her body let her down and her title defence ended on Saturday. The 29-year-old Czech was knocked out when she was beaten 2-6 6-3 6-4 by American 10th seed Emma Navarro in a disjointed display where she led by a set and a break but ended up drained in the final set and needing treatment from the doctor. Tears flowed as she served to stay in the match at 5-3 and she fought on with a hold but the end came swiftly, continuing a frustrating season in which she has been battling a niggling back injury. "I was enjoying every match that I played here. I was enjoying being on court, being able to play, being pain-free, having some good moments, having some tough situations but overcoming them, enjoying the atmosphere," Krejcikova said. "I was also really enjoying the position that I was in. Unfortunately, it ended up this way, which is very unfortunate and really sad and disappointing for me." Krejcikova said that American Navarro was ultimately fitter than her and had more energy when it mattered to take control of the match. "First of all, I thought that it was the food, that I ate too early. That's why I started with all the bananas and all the sugars and stuff inside," Krejcikova said as she looked to pinpoint the reason for her on-court issues. "But I wasn't really feeling better, I was actually feeling worse and worse with time on court. It's very sad for me, very unfortunate." Krejcikova said she would now focus on the North American hardcourt swing with tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati ahead of the U.S. Open in August. "I don't know if I'll play something in between," said the world number 16. "I'm going to drop on the rankings, so I think I will need to play more tournaments to gain some points and to come back."
The Guardian
35 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Ben Shelton overpowers Fucsovics to equal best Wimbledon run
As a statement of intent, Ben Shelton's first service game here on Saturday was quite something. His first serve thundered down at 145mph; on the third point, he upped it to 146mph and on the fifth, he bashed one down at 147mph. If Marton Fucsovics had picked up his rackets there and then and left the court, people would surely have understood. As it was, the Hungarian, ranked 105 but a man who has been as high as No 33, battled hard to compete with Shelton but the American was a man on a mission, his 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory putting him through to the last 16, equalling his previous Wimbledon best. A hammer of a forehand gave Shelton the first break for 3-1 in the opener and when Fucsovics had the temerity to force a break back point in the next game, he slammed down a serve at 148mph. To give that some context, that would have equalled the fastest ever serve at Wimbledon had Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard not raised it to 153mph earlier this week. 'I had a lot of fun,' Shelton said. 'It's always special playing here at Wimbledon. This is my third time playing on Court No 1. Hopefully I get a few more matches on one of these two big courts. I'm trying to make my way to Centre Court. Maybe I'll get there one day.' If he keeps playing this well, that's an inevitability. Though the second set was tight all the way through, Shelton pulled away to take the tie-break 7-4 and an early break in the third set him on his way. As his powerful all-court game flowed, he raced to a 5-1 lead and though Fucsovics got one break back, the left-hander broke again to clinch a convincing victory that sets up a clash with Lorenzo Sonego of Italy. 'He's a great player,' Shelton said of the Italian. 'I played him tight in Australia this year, I played him tight in Roland Garros so it's only fitting we do it in Wimbledon. Grass is a good surface for him, it'll be difficult, but I like my chances right now, the way I'm playing, the way the crowd is helping with my energy.' Sonego will need to find some energy somewhere after he edged out Brandon Nakashima 6-7 (5), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (3) in five hours and four minutes, the longest match of the tournament this year. The Italian won 45 of his 76 points at the net as he matched his previous best performance here. This time last year, Alex de Minaur was due to face Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals only to have to withdraw before the match because of a hip injury that disrupted the rest of his year. On Saturday, the Australian ensured he will get another crack at the seven-time champion as he ended the run of the unheralded Dane August Holmgren 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion 'It's funny how life works,' De Minaur said. 'Here we are a year later, and I'm going to get that match-up. It is a round earlier. It was a brutal time for me last year having to deal with all of those emotions. But here we are a year later feeling good, ready to go, and I'm going to get my chance again. So I'm excited for that.' Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov captured his 100th grand slam singles win, beating Sebastian Ofner of Austria 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (0) to reach the fourth round for the third year in a row, a performance that earned him a shot at Jannik Sinner, the top seed. Another Italian, Flavio Cobolli, reached the last 16 of a slam for the first time thanks to a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over the Czech Jakub Mensik and the veteran Croat Marin Cilic followed up his surprise win over Britain's Jack Draper by beating Jaume Munar of Spain 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the fourth round of a slam for the first time since 2022.
