Greek official axed after Olympian’s sex abuse claim

Athens - Bekatorou, now 43, said she was 21 when she was subjected to sexual harassment and abuse

A senior official at the Greek sailing federation has been forced to resign in the wake of sexual abuse allegations by one of the country’s top Olympians, the governing body said.

The federation said Saturday it was “shocked” by the claim made by former Olympic champion Sofia Bekatorou, which has sparked a flurry of revelations by other athletes.

Bekatorou, now 43, said she was 21 when she was subjected to “sexual harassment and abuse” by the senior federation member in his hotel room, shortly after trials for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Her claims, which sparked a social media firestorm, have been seen as a belated #MeToo moment after decades of silence by sex abuse victims.

The federation, which had initially demanded Bekatorou supply more details of her allegations before taking action, said in a statement it had “immediately requested the resignation” of its vice-president Aristeidis Adamopoulos.

It said Adamopoulos “is allegedly the person named by our Olympian” in a prior testimony to a prosecutor.

Two federation board members also resigned in protest at the stance of the organisation, which is to hold elections later this year.

Bekatorou, who won gold at the 2004 Athens Games and bronze in Beijing four years later, is expected to speak to a prosecutor next week.

The Hellenic Olympic Committee has also called for an internal investigation at which Bekatorou and Adamopoulos — who represented Greek sailing on the HOC board — are invited to testify.

At a government-sponsored teleconference on sexual abuse on Thursday, Bekatorou said she ultimately decided to stay silent in order to keep competing.