Four-time Olympic wrestling champion Kaori Icho was allegedly subjected to repeated harassment by the Japan Wrestling Federation's development director after winning her second gold medal in Beijing in 2008, a lawyers' office said Thursday.
A person close to the matter lodged a complaint against Kazuhito Sakae, who has helped Japanese wrestlers win medals, by submitting a letter to a Cabinet Office committee through a lawyer in January, it said.
Sakae denied the allegation and said, "I have worked very hard to help her four-peat at the Olympics, I don't know why this is happening." He added that he would talk with the federation to decide his response.