ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou of Greece has accused an unnamed sporting official of sexually assaulting her in 1998 during preparations for the Sydney Games.
Bekatorou, who won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, said the male official from the Hellenic Sailing Federation performed a “lewd act” after inviting her to his hotel room to discuss team preparations.
Bekatorou said she had made it clear that the act was not consensual, adding that she was left feeling “exhausted and humiliated.”
The AP does not usually identify people who say they were sexually assaulted, but Bekatorou made her allegation on Thursday while speaking at an online event organized by the ministry of culture and sport. A transcript of the event was released on Friday.
She did not name the official but described him as having a senior rank in the federation.
In a statement Friday, the sailing federation said it had not received any formal or informal complaint from Bekatorou but urged her to make one.
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
