‘Missing’ Athletics Coach Serving Prison Sentence in Morocco

An English athletics coach and former gold medallist reported missing is serving a prison sentence in Morocco, BBC Sport can reveal.
Leon Baptiste, who was coaching a clutch of top British track athletes in the run-up to this summer’s Commonwealth Games and European Championships, suddenly went off the grid more than three months ago.
Neither UK Athletics, for whom he worked as a consultant sprinting coach, nor the sprinters he coached knew why he was out of contact.
In May, Baptiste sent the group of athletes he coached a short message saying he would be absent from training “for a while”. They have been given no further explanation.
Over the weekend, he was reported in the media as being “missing” and was said to have disappeared in Morocco.
On Tuesday, a brief email was sent to the people coached by Baptiste – the 200m gold medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games – in which he resigned from the position, citing unspecified ill health.
A source at the Moroccan Ministry of Justice confirmed to BBC Sport that Baptiste was arrested in Marrakech in May, has subsequently been convicted and is now serving a custodial sentence in Al-Oudaya prison.
“In relation to the reports concerning the alleged ‘disappearance of Leon Baptiste’ – an English athletics coach reportedly missing in Morocco for more than two months under questionable circumstances – please note that the information published in this regard is inaccurate and does not reflect the facts of the case,” said the source.
“The foreign national concerned had not lost contact with his surroundings and was not subject to any disappearance or unexplained absence.
“He is currently being held at the local prison in Marrakech, where he is serving a custodial sentence following his conviction by the competent judicial authorities in connection with a misdemeanour case.”
They added Baptiste, 41, was “in good health”.
No details of what he was convicted of, or the length of his sentence, were provided.
The MMJ source said that was not uncommon in the Moroccan judicial system.
A spokesperson for the Morocco Public Prosecution Office confirmed: “The British national is currently being held at the local prison in Marrakech, where he is serving a custodial sentence following a court judgment against him in connection with his involvement in a criminal case.”
Asked directly about Baptiste, a UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting a British national who is detained in Morocco and are in contact with the authorities.”
Sources said that Baptiste travelled to Marrakech with three other British former athletes, who have all since returned to the UK.
Attempts made to contact the athletes yielded no reply.
Baptiste’s family are understood to be aware of his imprisonment.
Four-time European gold medallist Adam Gemili and relay coach Martyn Rooney stepped in to provide extra assistance to the athletes affected by Baptiste’s abrupt departure.