Sex-pest finally gets fingered by ASA
Athletics SA at last got the balls to deal with a sex-pest official who was finally put on the back burner last week.
ASA revealed last week that Athletics Free State president Steven Swarts, who is alleged to have inserted his fingers into the victim, a female athlete he was coaching in 2018 while giving her a massage, was suspended pending a disciplinary inquiry.
Swarts, who happens to be the stepfather and coach of 400m world record-holder Wayde van Niekerk, was found guilty of sexual assault in 2020 and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, suspended for five years.
But despite the conviction, the brazen Swart was embarrassingly elected as president of athletics in the province in late 2023.
