Athletics embroiled in civil war over whistleblower
Australia’s athletics governing body has rebuked the WA Institute of Sport over its treatment of whistleblower Paul Burgess, urging its leadership to support the Olympic gold medal-winning coach.
Australia’s national athletics governing body has aimed a stinging rebuke at the WA Institute of Sport over its treatment of whistleblower Paul Burgess, urging the institute’s leadership to support the Olympic gold medal-winning coach and to be “transparent about its approach”.
In an extraordinary move, Athletics Australia chair Jane Flemming and its chief executive, Simon Hollingsworth, have called on the under-pressure WAIS leadership of Neale Fong and Matt Fulton to – at minimum – allow Mr Burgess to coach on the institute’s grounds again.
“In AA’s, view to withhold this support in light of what has become public presents as both unreasonable and punitive,” Ms Flemming and Mr Hollingsworth say in a letter obtained by The Australian.
In response, Dr Fong and Mr Fulton have accused the two Olympians of being “disingenuous”, saying: “Mr Burgess is not welcome in WAIS facilities and the board stands by that decision”.
In December, The Australian revealed how Mr Burgess was instrumental in exposing the behaviour of former WAIS pole vault coach Parnov, who groomed, propositioned, sexually harassed and inappropriately touched a succession of vulnerable girls and young women in his care.
The investigation revealed how Mr Burgess had made complaints about Parnov’s behaviour, beginning in 2016 when he saw a video that showed the Russian-born coach running his hand down the back and across the bottom of up-and-coming star Nina Kennedy, who was then just 18.
Mr Burgess was forced to resign from WAIS just four months out from the Olympics, disrupting the preparations of his two elite athletes, Kennedy and bronze medal winner Kurtis Marschall.
Mr Burgess, who last week was announced Athletics Australia’s coach of the year and global pole vault coach of the year, has been unemployed since.
Marschall continues to seek guidance from Mr Burgess, but the coach has been barred from the WAIS pole vault facility.
In a letter dated 16 January, 2025, Ms Flemming and Mr Hollingsworth call upon Dr Fong and Mr Fulton to support Mr Burgess and allow him access to the institute’s training facilities.
“We are writing on behalf of Athletics Australia (AA) in relation to the recent reports of the behaviour of former coach Alex Parnov, and the current situation of Paul Burgess, who was a key whistleblower in this matter,” they state. “We note the significant role former WAIS pole vault athlete and coach Paul Burgess played as a whistleblower in this matter.
“Paul is no longer an employee of WAIS but continues to coach triple Olympian Kurtis Marschall in Perth.
“Given recent events, AA considers that WAIS should reconsider its current approach to the support it is providing to both Kurtis and his coach, Paul. In particular, we believe that at a minimum they should be permitted to jointly access the WAIS indoor pole vault facilities to be able to use a world-class training environment that will optimise the opportunity for continued international success.”
WAIS stands accused of trying to silence the coach who exposed shocking sexual abuse of athletes, after it sent the whistleblower an extraordinary letter – two days before Christmas – demanding an end to its non-disparagement agreement.
The legal letter, sent to Mr Burgess on December 23, also seeks to release WAIS from confidentiality and non-disclosure clauses in a deed of settlement signed by both parties in 2024 after he was forced to resign his position as head pole vault coach.
WAIS said in a statement that “given the repeated breaches” by Mr Burgess in raising matters with The Australian, the institute had “acted appropriately in requesting that such conduct cease immediately.”
“I feel like they are trying to silence me,” Mr Burgess said.
Ms Flemming and Mr Hollingsworth in their letter call on the WAIS bosses to be “transparent” in their actions. “While there may be legal and confidentiality reasons for WAIS’s current approach, in AA’s view there are always options that can be considered, and we encourage WAIS to explore all these exhaustively and be transparent about its approach,” they write.
In their response, Dr Fong and Mr Fulton said they had been “deeply disappointed” by the correspondence.
“Your letter appears to be built on an assumption that Mr Burgess’s separation from WAIS was related to his status as a whistleblower and is in our view disingenuous. At the time of his resignation, Mr Burgess was well aware of the formal process being undertaken to examine and address historical matters regarding Alex Parnov by the current board and management.
“Mr Burgess’s role as a whistleblower was recognised by the incoming board and management and he was provided appropriate support.”
Dr Fong and Mr Fulton said WAIS had taken a “trauma-informed approach” to protect Parnov’s victims, which was “well advanced” before the revelations in The Australian.
“It is highly likely that recent events may have caused further damage to former athletes,” the pair claimed.
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