A Scottish track coach who has worked with some of the world’s top female middle-distance runners, including Canada’s Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, has been banned from the sport for three years by UK Athletics (UKA).
Andrew (Andy) Young, 48, a former middle-distance runner, was found guilty by an independent disciplinary panel of manipulative behaviour and disregarding athlete welfare.
UK Athletics can today confirm the conclusion of disciplinary proceedings concerning endurance coach Andrew Young, Find out more here: https://t.co/LikdiDLsY3 pic.twitter.com/lMM9SMLilv — UKA News (@UKA_News) September 30, 2025
According to a UKA statement, Young “required an athlete to compete against the clear advice of a physiotherapist, threatened to exclude athletes from training or races if they did not comply with his demands, and emotionally undermined those who raised concerns about injuries.”
Another charge stemmed from an incident where Young abandoned an athlete at the side of the road following a disagreement, “disregarding their safety and well-being.”
Young, who ran 1:49.13 for 800m during his career, faced 39 charges in total. He was initially handed a five-year ban, later reduced on appeal to three years and backdated to April 2023. He will be eligible to return to coaching in summer 2026.
Young guided several high-profile athletes, including 2020 Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir, Scottish 800m star Jemma Reekie and DeBues-Stafford. The panel concluded that he had “placed performance above athlete welfare, ignored medical advice and used manipulative and coercive behaviour towards those he coached.”
DeBues-Stafford trained under Young’s tutelage from 2019 to 2020, during which time she set the Canadian women’s 1,500m record of 3:56.12 and placed sixth at the 2019 World Championships in Doha. She left the group in 2020 to join the Bowerman Track Club in Portland, Ore.
The 30-year-old from Toronto wrote in a social media post that she was approached by the UK Athletics investigation in 2022, and her testimony related to some of the findings and charges against Young. “The whole hearing process and its aftermath felt dehumanizing and frustrating, but I feel grateful to have been able to support my fellow teammates by participating.”
Muir also issued a statement through UK Athletics, waiving her anonymity and announcing her involvement in Young’s case. “I fully support the decisions reached by both independent panels, and I am grateful that the process has been followed through so thoroughly—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.”
[SRC] https://runningmagazine.ca/the-scene/scottish-track-coach-handed-three-year-ban-for-manipulative-behaviour/
