Leon Baptiste, a highly regarded British Athletics coach, has not been heard from since visiting Morocco around two months ago. The 41-year-old, who coaches several elite athletes including Paris Olympic 4x400m relay bronze medallist Charlie Dobson, is believed to have gone to Morocco for a weekend with close friends, reportedly for a stag do or golf trip.
No contact for two months
Baptiste has not been in touch with his athletes or UK Athletics officials, who employ him as a Loughborough-based consultant. Messages to his phone have not been returned. UK Athletics has declined to comment, citing confidentiality.
A former British teammate of Baptiste told The Guardian: “He was a very calm and sensible chap, in my experience. No one knows what has happened. It is very worrying.”
Athletes affected
In Baptiste’s absence, Dobson has struggled with injuries and failed to advance from the 400m semi-finals at the European Championships in Birmingham. Finishing fourth in his semi-final in 45.18 seconds, over a second outside his personal best of 44.14 set last year, Dobson alluded to the situation, saying it had been “an interesting eight weeks”.
He also mentioned injury niggles that led to his withdrawal from the recent Commonwealth Games. He did not compete in the men’s 4x400m heats on Friday morning, and it remains unclear if he will run in Sunday evening’s final.
UK Athletics staff have stepped in to assist Dobson and Baptiste’s other athletes, with former European 400m champion and relays coach Martyn Rooney taking Dobson under his wing.
Career and background
Baptiste was a talented sprinter who won 200m and 4x100m relay gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi before retiring at 28 due to a serious knee issue. Surgery caused him to miss the London 2012 Olympics, and he moved into coaching after deciding not to defend his Commonwealth titles at the 2014 Games in Glasgow.
“As much as I am sprinting and progressing, my body has never fully recovered from my knee surgery,” he said that year. “My coach and I feel that Glasgow Commonwealth Games qualification is a tall order – so the time has come for my focus to move elsewhere. The decision for an athlete to retire is never easy, but in essence the decision has been made for me.”
The British Embassy in Rabat has been approached for comment.
