A judicial investigation has been opened into the alleged abusive conduct of the former coach of Belgian heptathlete Hanne Maudens, the Limburg Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed on Friday.
Maudens filed a complaint with local police in 2024, alleging that her former coach sexually assaulted her over a period of years, including during massage sessions.
She also said the Flemish athletics federation had been aware of the allegations but had “covered up the case”.
The prosecutor’s office had closed an earlier inquiry in April for lack of evidence.
In recent months, however, new witness statements concerning the coach have been collected and added to the case file, prompting the opening of a judicial investigation.
Maudens is seeking formal recognition of the alleged offences and hopes to obtain damages.
Her complaint refers to sexually abusive conduct during a training camp in South Africa and to what she describes as irresponsible coaching that forced her to compete with a fractured tibia.
In 2022, the athlete also filed a complaint with prosecutors against the Flemish athletics federation, but that case was likewise dropped.
Represented by lawyer Christine Mussche, she has now lodged a new complaint with the investigating judge in Hasselt.
Maudens has resumed training with a view to the 2028 Olympic Games.
