Leon Baptiste, a former British sprinter who secured two gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, has been reported missing for two months. Baptiste, 41, traveled to Morocco with friends for what was believed to be a weekend stag or golf trip and has not been heard from since.
Baptiste, who won gold in the 200m and as part of the 4x100m relay team at the 2010 Delhi Games, is also a highly regarded athletics coach. He has trained several elite Team GB athletes, including Paris Olympic 4x400m relay bronze medalist Charlie Dobson. Dobson has reportedly struggled with injuries since Baptiste's disappearance and did not advance past the semi-finals at the European Championships last week.
A former teammate described Baptiste as a "very calm and sensible chap" and expressed deep concern over his unexplained absence. Calls and texts to his phone have gone unanswered, prompting the former teammate to raise the alarm on August 14.
Baptiste's sprinting career began in his teenage years. He won 100m gold for Great Britain at the 2003 European Junior Championships in Finland at age 18. He also won gold in the 4x100m relay at the same event, earning him the title of junior male athlete of the year from the British Athletics Writers' Association. A knee surgery following his early success meant he missed the 2012 London Olympics, and he retired from competitive athletics in 2014 at the age of 28, citing his body's inability to fully recover.
Following his retirement, Baptiste transitioned into coaching and was employed by UK Athletics as a consultant in Loughborough. The organization has declined to comment on his disappearance.