Former UK swim coach Lars Jorgensen receives lifetime ban from coaching
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- U.S. Center for SafeSport permanently barred former UK coach Lars Jorgensen from coaching.
- Two former UK swimmers sued Jorgensen, UK and Mitch Barnhart; jury trial set June 22, 2026
- SafeSport, created in 2017 after Larry Nassar scandal, can impose sanctions and lifetime bans.
Former University of Kentucky head swim coach Lars Jorgensen was ruled permanently ineligible from coaching Thursday by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, a nonprofit organization established by Congress to protect athletes who compete in Olympic sports.
In its online disciplinary database, the Center cited the 55-year-old Jorgensen for “misconduct” and specifically listed an “intimate relationship involving a power imbalance; physical misconduct; retaliation; sexual harassment; (and) sexual misconduct.”
The sanctions cover Jorgensen’s involvement with USA Swimming and the U.S. Tennis Association.
Jorgensen, who represented the U.S. as a swimmer at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, can appeal the ruling.
Two people, Briggs Alexander and “Jane Doe,” have accused Jorgensen in a lawsuit of a pattern of sexual harassment and assault. They are former UK swimmers who later worked as assistant swim coaches under Jorgensen.
They’re also suing UK and athletics director Mitch Barnhart, who was Jorgensen’s supervisor until the swim coach resigned in 2023. They argue that UK for years turned a blind eye to warnings about Jorgensen’s predatory behavior toward women, even as they and a third UK swimmer were abused by the coach.
Jorgensen, UK and Barnhart have denied wrongdoing.
A jury trial is scheduled to begin June 22, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Lexington.
The Center for SafeSport was created by federal law in 2017 in response to the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal, where team doctor Larry Nassar used his position to assault hundreds of young athletes. Nassar was later sentenced to up to 175 years in prison.
The Center has the authority to review allegations of sexual misconduct in Olympic sports, such as swimming and gymnastics; impose sanctions that can include suspensions or a lifetime ban; and maintain a public database of sanctioned individuals.
