British runner Sarah McDonald reveals she was assaulted while training
A British athlete has spoken of her shock after a man "grabbed her bum" while she was preparing for a training session on a canal towpath in Birmingham.
Sarah McDonald, who reached the World Championships 1,500 metres semi-finals in 2019, was warming up when the incident occurred on Wednesday and says she will report it to the police.
"Unfortunately today I experienced something that wasn’t acceptable," she said. "While warming up for my session on the canal towpath two men passed me on a moped, slowing down so the man on the back could grab my bum.
"As a runner, I’ve been heckled and had things shouted but this was completely different. Thankfully I wasn’t alone at the time as this situation could have been worse, but until today I’d have felt comfortable being on my own and this has been a wake up call - be vigilant and look after each other."
As an elite athlete, McDonald has had access to proper training facilities during lockdown but the incident comes after a number of female Welsh sprinters locked out of tracks and forced to train in public said they had been verbally abused by strangers.
Former Wales 400m champion Rhiannon Linington-Payne told the BBC: "I've had inappropriate comments about my figure, wolf-whistling, cars slowing down to stare... I've even had a beer can thrown at me. The more it happens, the more it wears away at you."
Wales sprinter Hannah Brier said: "It's actually quite ironic... I'm not allowed on the track for safety reasons, but I don't feel safe where I'm training now."
She added: "I find myself now going through my wardrobe and picking outfits that I think are not as flashy, not as revealing... I'm not going to get noticed if I wear all black."
In line with government guidelines, outdoor athletics tracks have been given the green light to reopen on March 29 with a staggered return to indoor training beginning on April 12.
