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Schubert Sued By Dismissed Coach

Sep 18, 2012

News Round-Up:

USA: Former USA national coach Mark Schubert is being sued by an assistant swimming coach who claims she was wrongfully fired by after she became aware of abuse allegations within the Southern California club he leads. The lawsuit, which was filed Monday in Orange County Superior Court, claims that Dia Rianda, brought in by Schubert to work at Golden West Swim Club last year, says she became aware of sexual abuse allegations against a friend of Schubert's Bill Jewell. Rianda strongly objected to him working at the club, according to an AP report by Paul Newberry. The suit alleges that  Rianda was fired on July 11 after she tried to keep children from being around Jewell while he was being investigated by USA Swimming. "The reaction from Mark was very confusing," she says. "On the one hand, he was concerned that the behaviour was not acceptable. On the other hand, he justified it by saying that's the way things have been at USA Swimming for a long time." Schubert had yet to respond to the AP report at the time it went out, while USA Swimming, which has spent the past few years dealing with misconduct among a small minority of coaches down the years, said it does not comment "on open investigations". The lawsuit claims Rianda received complaints about Jewell from both parents and swimmers, passing on the information to Chuck Wielgus, the executive director of USA Swimming, and Susan Woessner, the federation's director of safe sport. 

China: The Chinese University Games are drawing to a close with Sun Yang having won the 200, 400 and 800m free and 4x200m free crowns. The meet in Tianjin witnessed a 1:57.09 victory in the 200m backstroke by Zhang Fenglin, while Gong Jie, denied a London 2012 swim in the 200m butterfly despite a top-two 2:05.38 at China trials, won the uni crown in 2:07.68, third place going to the woman granted the London 2012 spot as defending champion, Liu Zige, in 2:14.58 - all a far cry from her shiny suit world mark of 2:01.81.

Britain: A peeping Tom who spied on members of China's Olympic women's swimming team has been banned from female changing rooms and toilets for five years after being sentenced by magistrates in England. Declan Crosbie, 25, from Leeds, was caught looking over the top of cubicles as athletes got changed at a Leeds University pool in the lead-up to the London Games. He admitted trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence and was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court.

Africa: In a week that saw South African swimmers dominate the African Long Course Championships with 51 total medals (29 gold, 14 silver, 8 bronze), Sam Ramsamy, FINA media spokesman and IOC member, has been elected as President of the Confederation of African Swimming. The South African succeeds former FINA president, Mustapha Larfaoui, the Algerian who had had held the post since the continental body was formed in 1972. Ramsamy, 74, already CANA vice-president, beat Nigeria's Chief Thomas Olatokunbo, another from the FINA stable, by 14 votes to six at the organisation's Congress in Nairobi.