The Aquatics Integrity Unit (AQIU) has provisionally suspended Costa Rican coach Francisco Rivas while investigating allegations of harassment and abuse of athletes. Per World Aquatics, the decision was made to “safeguard public confidence in the integrity of aquatics and to protect the well-being of those involved in the sport.”
Rivas, 75, has coached for five decades and attended seven Olympic Games as a coach. During his provisional suspension, Mr. Rivas is not permitted to hold any position, including coaching, within World Aquatics, any World Aquatics Continental Organization, or any World Aquatics Member Federation, including affiliated clubs or recognized bodies. The suspension also prevents him from taking part in any aquatic-related activities and/or events on behalf of these organizations, as well as participating or attending, in any capacity, in any aquatic competition.
The suspension comes on the heels of several swimmers speaking out against Rivas, including 1996 Olympic champion Claudia Poll, 1988 Olympian Marcela Cuesta, and Central American Games medalist Manuel Rojas.
According to the alleged victims, they and others suffered through years of harm at Rivas’ hands. They were threatened and isolated from each other for decades, the alleged victims said, to scare them out of reporting.
Allegations first surfaced publicly in December 2024, when Cuesta made a Facebook post detailing what she described as constant physical, psychological, and sexual abuse on her swim team, mentioning a coach without naming them specifically. The post, she said, was meant to break the silence on the issue and let other potential victims know they weren’t alone.
One month later, Cuesta filed a report to the Costa Rican Federation of Aquatic Sports (FECODA) against Rivas. In this report, she went into greater detail about the alleged abuse, mentioning physical aggression such as being hit with flip-flops and sticks “to the point of breaking the skin.”
Cuesta also described instances of control and sexual abuse, saying Rivas dictated things such as her haircut and who she could talk to. She claimed that he threatened her with death and said he would have her father imprisoned if her parents got involved.
Poll served as a witness in Cuesta’s reports, and she later reported counts of abuse herself. Cuesta said that she and Poll had not spoken in 28 years when discussing what she described as Rivas’ “divide and conquer” strategy.
In the same reports, Rojas said that he faced physical and psychological abuse, including allegedly intentionally harmful massages. Rivas suspended a then-18-year-old Rojas in what Rojas claimed to be a personal vendetta, thus ending his career.
FECODA said it was unable to conduct an investigation, as the statute of limitation had expired. Cuesta’s report detailed events from 1978-1988 while training at Club Cariari.
He also pushed drugs