The head coach of Canada’s national artistic swimming team will take a personal leave pending the results of a disciplinary hearing into whether he created a toxic training environment for athletes, The Canadian Press reported, quoting Canada’s artistic swimming organization. The coach, Gabor Szauder, came under scrutiny after athletes complained that he berated them about their weight and made sexist, racist and psychologically harmful remarks. Canada Artistic Swimming, which oversees the sport formerly known as synchronized swimming, investigated last fall and reported that there was not sufficient evidence to remove him as coach. Athletes disagreed, with some arguing that Szauder’s hiring added to a history of abusive coaching in Canada’s federation over several years. Earlier this month, five former swimmers filed a lawsuit against the organization, saying it failed to provide a safe and respectful training environment.

Source: International New York Times March 26, 2021 20:02 UTC