#MeToo on the track: Abuse allegations embolden top runners

Track and field is having its #MeToo moment.

Former teen running star Mary Cain’s account this week of body-shaming and alleged psychological abuse at the recently disbanded Nike Oregon Project is prompting other top athletes to come forward.

Distance runner Amy Yoder Begley said Friday she was told she “had the biggest butt on the starting line.” And Kara Goucher’s husband said the Olympian endured “disgusting” comments from coaches.

Nike says it’s investigating. But the cascade of allegations that have followed Oregon Project director Alberto Salazar’s four-year doping ban have some in the sport saying a day of reckoning was long overdue.

Dr. Kathryn Ackerman is medical director of the female athlete program at Boston Children’s Hospital. She says it’s important that the athletes’ stories get out.

William J. Kole, The Associated Press