Austria’s Peter Seisenbacher, one of the best judo practitioners, is under investigation for purportedly sexually assaulting four of his minor pupils that he coached back in the 2000s.
On Wednesday, the Vienna state prosecution confirmed the reports about the Olympic gold medalist. They said that the investigation on Seisenbacher started last year when the four pupils filed sexual assault charges against their former coach.
Seisenbacher, 54, became the first judoka to win consecutive Olympic gold medals. The first medal was in 1984 at the Los Angeles Olympics for the Men’s Middleweight (86 kg.) event, and the second one was in 1988 at the Seoul, South Korea Olympics, again for the Men’s Middleweight (86 kg.) event.
Before the 1984 Olympics, Seisenbacher went to Japan to develop his judo skills, which provided the optimal conditions for his training. Training in a different country allowed Seisenbacher and the rest of the Austrian team to have world-class partners that they could train with. According to his coach, George Kerr, Seisenbacher returned from Japan “a different fighter.” His extensive training in Japan made him a better athlete.
After winning his first Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles, Seisenbacher created a winning streak by being the world champion in 1985 and the Europe champion in Belgrade in 1986.
From 2010 until 2012, Seisenbacher was the head coach of the Georgian national judo team. He continued to win European championship medals and world championship medals. From 2012 to 2013, Seisenbacher became the head coach of the Azerbaijan national judo team. Seisenbacher followed the footsteps of Coach Kerr, and has proved to be successful. Kerr is a Scottish judo expert who competed for the United Kingdom. He has four European championship medals under his name.
If found guilty of the sexual harassment charges, Seisenbacher could spend up to 10 years in prison.
Image via Wikimedia Commons