Muir's former coach Young banned for 'serious misconduct'

Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir has said she has put a "difficult chapter firmly behind" her after her former coach Andrew Young was banned for three years for "serious misconduct".

A UK Athletics disciplinary panel found that Young - who Scotland's Muir stopped working with in 2023 - "ignored medical advice" and "used manipulative and coercive behaviour towards those he coached".

One incident highlighted was when Young, "following a disagreement, drove at speed with an athlete in his car before abandoning them at the roadside, disregarding their safety and wellbeing".

Other examples included "requiring an athlete to compete against the clear advice of a physiotherapist, threatening to exclude athletes from training or races if they did not comply with his demands, and emotionally undermining those who raised concerns about injuries".

Young faced 39 charges and, in September 2024, a UKA disciplinary panel found nine of those proven "wholly or in part", with seven of them serious.

He was then suspended for five years in a ban backdated to April 2023.

Young appealed against the ruling and, while an independent panel expressed "a slightly lesser view of the gravity of the misconduct overall" in August 2025 and reduced his ban to three years, "it rejected claims of bias, legal error and unfairness, and it confirmed the misconduct findings in full".

"It agreed that seven of the breaches were serious and that revocation of his licence was necessary to protect athletes," said UKA.

The governing body also said that Young would be required to "complete training on athlete welfare, injury management and bullying/harassment before a return to coaching could be considered".

Muir, who won a silver medal in the 1,500m at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021, is now being coached by Laura Weightman, while world indoor silver medallist Jemma Reekie - who had also been coached by Young - is now working with Jon Bigg.

"I have chosen to waive my anonymity and confirm my involvement in this case," said Muir.

"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.

"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."