He went to Morocco for a weekend with friends: this British coach has been missing for two months
Leon Baptiste, a top-level British coach and former Commonwealth champion, has not been heard from since travelling to Morocco approximately two months ago. The 41-year-old Briton was supposed to spend a weekend there with friends.
Mystery surrounds the disappearance of this former sprinter turned coach. According to The Guardian, Leon Baptiste is believed to have gone to Morocco with several close friends. It may have been a bachelor party or a trip devoted to golf.
On Bladi.net : article 121118
But since that trip, his athletes and officials at UK Athletics have had no news of him. Messages sent to his phone have gone unanswered. A former teammate interviewed by the British newspaper describes a calm and reasonable man and says that those around him are growing increasingly worried about this unexplained absence.
His athletes had to change coaches
Leon Baptiste works as a consultant for UK Athletics in Loughborough and coaches several top-level athletes. Among them is Charlie Dobson, a bronze medallist with the British 4x400-metre relay team at the Paris Olympics. British Athletics documents clearly identify him as Dobson’s coach.
Faced with Baptiste’s prolonged absence, UK Athletics had to reorganise the coaching of his group. Former European 400-metre champion Martyn Rooney notably took charge of Dobson. The British federation has nevertheless refused to comment on the disappearance itself, citing confidentiality.
On Bladi.net : article 119354
A former top-level sprinter, Leon Baptiste won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games before a serious knee injury gradually brought his career to an end. He subsequently retrained as a coach. Two months after leaving for Morocco, the circumstances of his disappearance remain unknown