Swimming lawyer Ronalds to lead Australian review of abuse allegations

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MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Swimming Australia (SA) has appointed lawyer Chris Ronalds to lead its review of allegations of swimmer abuse, the national federation said on Tuesday.

Australian swimming has been under the microscope since two-time Olympic silver medalist Madeline Groves withdrew from the Tokyo Games trials, citing “mysogynous perverts” in the sport.

Several former anonymous swimmers have since submitted allegations of misconduct to SA, which on Saturday admitted historical abuse of swimmers dating back “decades.”

“The community can be assured that this will be an independent process and I look forward to presenting some results that will ensure swimming will be a safe and successful environment in Australia in the future,” said Ronalds, based in Sydney, in a statement released by SA.

Ronalds, an expert on gender discrimination, will appoint the other two members of an all-female panel set up by SA to investigate “the experience of women and girls in sport”.

The statement said the review will investigate the behavior, conduct and practices of those in positions of authority, ways to support the advancement of women into high performance coaching roles, and how to effectively resolve issues. problems related to physical performance in sport.

It would also review the complaints process throughout SA’s organizational structure.

“And while the focus is on women in the swimming community, our panel will work for the betterment of everyone in the swimming community,” Ronalds added.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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