Sexual abuse and harassment by coaches and others in 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.
While the men involved climbed the sport's ranks, these women told The Associated Press they were forced to end racing careers early.
“My safety on the team was clearly secondary,” 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 then-U.S. Biathlon official Max Cobb.
Cobb, who the women say was informed but failed to address several claims, went from U.S. domestic team manager to U.S. Biathlon Association CEO and is now secretary general of the International Biathlon Union, the worldwide governing body of the sport, which combines cross-country skiing with target shooting.
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, created to investigate sex-abuse allegations in Olympic sports in the Larry Nassar gymnastics scandal's aftermath.
The AP generally does not identify victims of sexual abuse except in cases where they publicly identify themselves or share their stories openly, as these women have.
Cobb denied allegations of failing to act. “During my 33 years at U.S. Biathlon, athlete safety was always fundamental to me and I can't recall ever hearing from athletes or others that my efforts in this regard were not appropriate,” he said via email to AP.
Cobb declined to be interviewed by AP, saying it would violate SafeSport's code.
However, an investigation ordered by U.S. Biathlon into team culture and safety following AP's report found biathletes faced “misogynistic” behavior while racing and feared retaliation over coming forward.
In response, biathlon officials said they were adopting an “action plan.” ___
Biathlon is the only winter sport with no U.S. Olympic medals. Desperate to excel, U.S. officials hired European coaches and staff, and turned a blind eye when women raised their claims, those interviewed said.
In 1990, to prepare for the first-ever women’s Olympic biathlon race, U.S. officials hired German biathlete Walter Pichler to coach.
During training camp that year, the team went out one night. Then 20-year-old Wilder said she went to bed early and woke to someone on her back — Pichler trying to force her to have sex, she said in a complaint to SafeSport.
Pichler denied trying to sexually assault Wilder. “This is unbelievable,” he told AP. “I always had a super relationship with Joanie, or with all the athletes, all the female, the men athletes.”
Wilder said she reported it to then-team manager Cobb. He “didn’t consider it discipline-worthy,” she said.
Wilder said in her SafeSport complaint that she faced retaliation for pressing the issue of firing Pichler.
She was temporarily bumped from the 1994 Olympic team, then dropped from the national team before the 1998 Olympics without being told — putting her health insurance at risk.
She called Cobb.
“Max ended the conversation with, ‘Well, if you write a letter to the U.S. Olympic Committee and say that you’re resigning from biathlon, I’ll extend your medical insurance,’” she told AP.
She decided she didn’t have any fight left, and left the sport.
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Grace Boutot grew up near the Maine Winter Sports Center's Nordic ski facility, used by U.S. Biathlon.
In 2003, Boutot, then 12, was recruited into the program. She started racing in 2004 and, at 15, began training with new coach Gary Colliander.
Colliander gave her much coaching attention and hugs, she said. His attention increased over time, she said, with him inviting her to his home, massaging her legs, and rubbing her back and buttocks.
It escalated after she turned 18 to “kissing, sexual fondling and oral sex,” according to a treatment summary by therapist Jacqueline Pauli-Ritz, shared with AP.
Boutot said she begged him to stop but Colliander ignored her.
She became severely depressed and started cutting herself, according to Pauli-Ritz's notes. In September 2010, Pauli-Ritz contacted Colliander and told him he should stop coaching Boutot, the treatment summary said.
“He did not do this until after the suicide attempt,” Pauli-Ritz wrote, referring to Boutot's 2010 overdose on antidepressants at training camp.
The next day, Colliander resigned. He took a coaching job in Colorado and was hired in December 2016 by the U.S. Paralympic team.
Colliander didn't respond to phone messages and emails seeking comment.
In October 2010, Boutot informed the Maine Winter Sports Center about Colliander's abuse, according to a letter she sent the center’s board. But, she said, there was no investigation.
Boutot said she also faced abuse by then-U.S. Biathlon junior team coach Vladimir Cervenka of the Czech Republic, starting in 2007.
When she won a silver medal at the 2009 Youth World Championships, Cervenka grabbed her, she said.
“He forcibly kissed me and groped my entire body, smothering me and crushing me until he was pulled off of me by our team masseuse,” she said of Cervenka, who was 26 years older.
Cervenka denied Boutot's claims.
“I absolutely did not kiss her or grope her body,” he told AP via email.
Boutot reported Cervenka's alleged abuse twice to U.S. Biathlon officials, including in a January 2011 email to Cobb and a U.S. Biathlon board member in which she also expressed concern about Cervenka's inappropriate contact with other young teammates and her worries about retaliation. In the email exchange, she was told the issues were serious, but she had to make her complaint public so Cervenka could defend himself.
Boutot said she expected them to investigate: "I told them of the abuse, and they never took me seriously.”
Boutot faced retaliation by the Maine Winter Sports Center, she said in a 2011 complaint to the Maine Human Rights Commission.
The center settled for $75,000. Boutot quit racing.
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SafeSport has ordered a new investigation into whether Reid was retaliated against for exposing the abuse she endured to the watchdog group. SafeSport spokeswoman Hilary Nemchik said she couldn't comment on the ongoing case.
SafeSport investigates claims even when the legal statute of limitations has expired.
Wilder said she didn’t know she had that option and has now filed a complaint, naming Cobb and Pichler.
“I sincerely hope that my shared story with other women biathletes results in this being bookends to a darker period," Wilder said. ___
EDITOR’S NOTE — Martha Bellisle is an amateur biathlete who has won several U.S. national and world championship gold medals in the master’s division for competitors 60 and older. She has competed at local races across the country sanctioned by the U.S. Biathlon Association.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org
