Robyn Stevens (born April 24, 1983) is an American Olympic race walker. She competed for Vacaville High School, then went on to San José State University. Stevens suffered from an eating disorder and

body dysmorphia Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), occasionally still called dysmorphophobia, is a mental disorder characterized by the obsessive idea that some aspect of one's own body part or appearance is severely flawed and therefore warrants exceptional meas ...

while attending, which forced her to quit racing in 2004. She did not compete again until 2014. She competed in the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in Tokyo in 2021.

Competition

In 2019, Stevens won the U.S. 50 kilometer race walk championship, and repeated her win on January 25, 2020, in Santee, California, with a time of 4:37:31, leading from start to finish and winning by over 9 1/2 minutes.Robyn Stevens excelling in USATF race walking meets
'' Daily Republic'', February 9, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2021. On February 2, she won the Utah indoor 3000 meters race walk. At the Millrose Games indoor mile in New York City on February 8, 2020, after an absence of 19 years, Stevens led for over half the race. She was passed by Ohio high school star

Taylor Ewert Taylor Ewert (born November 21, 2001) is an American long-distance runner and college track and field athlete for the University of Arkansas. In high school, she set numerous records and was the cross country OHSAA Division I individual state cham ...

who won in 6:34:63, and Lauren Harris, second in 6:39.31, with Stevens finishing third in 6:41:30. Stevens won the 2020 USA Olympic Trial 20k race walk event in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, finishing in 1:35.13, over four minutes ahead of the second-place finisher. Stevens' boyfriend

Nick Christie Nicholas Steven "Nick" Christie (born September 29, 1991) is an American racewalker. Christie is a multiple time National Champion at the NAIA level and has been the US National Champion for the indoor 3000m Racewalk. He has competed internation ...

won the men's 20k at the same meet. Stevens went on to compete in the delayed

in Tokyo in 2021, where she finished in 33rd place out of a field of 58 athletes. At the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the f ...

Stevens finished the 20km race walking competition in 24th place.

Sexual abuse by former coach

Stevens said she was repeatedly raped by her former coach, Andreas “Dre” Gustafsson, for over two and a half years starting in February 2017. Concerned that he was victimizing other female athletes, she filed a complaint with the

U.S. Center for SafeSport The United States Center for SafeSport is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 2017 under the auspices of the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017. SafeSport is tasked with ad ...

in late 2020. In August 2022, SafeSport provisionally suspended Gustafsson for “sexual misconduct.” USA Track & Field told its members that Gustafsson was prohibited “from participating, in any capacity, in any event, program, activity, or competition authorized by, organized by or under the auspices of the

USOPC The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

, the National Governing Bodies recognized by the USOPC, a Local Affiliated Organization ... or at a facility under the jurisdiction of the same.” Gustafsson confirmed that he had consensual sex with Stevens multiple times while still married to his wife, but said it was consensual and "... she loved the sex we had together. She loved it. So, you know, her coming up a victim later on, that’s on her.”

References

External links

Robyn Stevens
at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Robyn 1983 births Living people American female racewalkers San Jose State University alumni Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics San Jose State Spartans athletes Olympic track and field athletes for the United States 20th-century American women 21st-century American women People from Vacaville, California Sportspeople from Solano County, California Sexual assaults in the United States Sexual assault in sports