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Athletics fans may recall the sudden change in coaches for Scotland’s Laura Muir in 2023. As it turns out, Andrew Young was abusive and is currently meeting his commuppance.
Muir, a Tokyo Olympic silver medallist in the 1500 metre distance event, has moved on, and Young has been banned for three years for “gross misconduct and using manipulative and coercive behaviour towards those he coached.”
The United Kingdom Athletics disciplinary panel said Young, “following a disagreement, drove at high speed with an athlete in his car before abandoning them at the roadside, showing no regard for their safety or wellbeing.”
He apparently also pressured an athlete to compete against “clear physiotherapy guidance,” threatening to exclude athletes from training sessions or races if they refused his demands, and “emotionally undermining those who raised injury concerns.”
Young was up against a total of 39 charges. The panel upheld nine of them “in whole or in part,” seven of which were deemed serious. He was handed a five-year suspension; however, it is backdated to April 2023.
On an appeal, Young had his ban reduced to three years.
Young is required to enroll in training on athlete welfare, injury management, harassment and bullying before a return to coaching.
Muir, who won Olympic silver over 1,500m at the Tokyo Games in 2021, is now guided by Laura Weightman. Fellow middle-distance runner Jemma Reekie, a World Indoor silver medallist who had also been coached by Young, now works with Jon Bigg.
“I have decided to waive my anonymity and confirm my involvement in this case,” confessed Muir. “I fully support the decisions taken by both independent panels, and I am grateful that the process was followed so thoroughly. I want to thank everyone who came forward and contributed. It was not easy, but it was necessary,” she added.
“Athletics has always been my passion, and I’m pleased to say I have rediscovered the joy of my sport and the satisfaction of training in a positive and supportive environment. My focus is now firmly on the future, looking ahead to the next years of my career and leaving this difficult chapter behind.”
Canadian Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, trained under Young between 2019 and 2020, said that investigators contacted her three years ago and that her testimony was used in to put forth the charges. “The entire hearing process and its aftermath was dehumanizing and frustrating,” the 30-year-old wrote on social media. “I am thankful I was able to support my fellow athletes by participating. I hope to provide feedback to UKA and UK Sport on how best to support athletes in the future,” she explained.
DeBues-Stafford returned to competitiveness in 2025 after more than two years sidelined with a variety of injuries. She has set seven national records, multiple times. She is also a 1500m specialist and finished fifth in the same Olympic final with Muir.
They both ran in the 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships. Muir did not advance to the final, while Debues-Stafford finished 11th in a season-best time of 3:59.65.
Their personal bests are 3:56.12 for Debues-Stafford and 3:53.37 for Muir.
Debues-Stafford now works with her partner Rowan Stafford, while Muir has hired Steve Cram and Laura Weightman.
