Ex-world champion Jana Pittman was ‘kissed inappropriately by a coach’

SYDNEY – Australia’s former track world champion Jana Pittman has said she was kissed by a coach during her athletics career, a revelation that echoes the scandal engulfing Spanish football.

Prosecutors in Spain are investigating Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales after he kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the medal ceremony for the Women’s World Cup final.

The kiss has sparked a massive backlash, but he has so far refused to resign despite being asked to by the Spanish football federation.

Pittman, the 2003 and 2007 women’s 400m hurdles world champion, said Rubiales’ kiss triggered memories from her time in elite athletics and showed how times have changed.

“I have been kissed inappropriately by a coach, not mine, an international coach where it was a cultural norm in that setting,” the 40-year-old told a talk show for Australian broadcaster ABC.

“And I didn’t think anything of it until I witnessed this on television.”

At present, 81 Spanish players, including Hermoso, are on strike until the leadership changes at Spain’s football federation.

Hermoso has said the incident left her feeling “vulnerable and like the victim of an assault”.

Spanish football great Andres Iniesta was among many who had criticised Rubiales, saying that the women’s team’s World Cup triumph has been “tarnished” by his behaviour.

Pittman did not name the coach who kissed her while she was an athlete.

“I didn’t even reflect on it in that moment. I knew him quite well, he was a very friendly coach, so I didn’t take it personally,” she added.

“In that context, it wasn’t meant in a way that was discriminatory against me.”

However, the Australian said she now looks differently on the incident in the wake of the Women’s World Cup final.

Pittman, who is now a doctor, said it was important to speak up to ensure professional sport is a safe place for women.

“Consent is very important for our women to feel safe in those different environments and, if we don’t stand up for it in a public setting, it’s really a misdemeanour for women globally,” she said.

“I feel like if he (Rubiales) had been even slightly apologetic... we would all be feeling very differently about the way he’s behaved.”

Pittman also said the “hardest and saddest thing” about the Rubiales scandal is that it casts a shadow over “what this incredible World Cup means for women in sport”. AFP