By Paul Osborne

Double Olympic judo champion Peter Seisenbacher is under investigation for allegedly sexually assaulting four minor pupils whilst a coach in Vienna, Switzerland in the early 2000s.

Following media reports in Austria, the Vienna state prosecution confirmed yesterday that investigations started last year after four women filed charges against their former coach, according to Austrian website Laola1.at.

Seisenbacher is one of Austria's most successful judoka and was the first Olympian to win back-to-back judo gold medals.

The first of these gold medals came in the men's under 86 kilogramme category of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, with his successful defence of the same title coming during the four years later in Seoul.

In the intervening years, the 54-year-old took World Championship gold in Seoul in 1985, followed by gold at the European Championships in Belgrade in 1986.

Lasha Shavdatuashvili took gold at London 2012 in the 66kg category under the leadership of Peter Seisenbacher ©Getty Images

After his illustrious sports career, Seisenbacher worked as a judo trainer in Austria before moving to Georgia to take over as head coach of the national judo team.

During his time in charge, the team won two gold, three silver, and four bronze medals at European Championships, and one bronze medal at World Championships.

Under Seisenbacher's leadership, Lasha Shavdatuashvili also took gold at London 2012 in the 66kg category.

Following his time in Georgia, Seisenbacher took the helm of the Azerbaijani national judo team from October 20120 until the end of 2013.

If charged and found guilty over the allegations, the 54-year-old Seisenbacher could face a prison term of up to 10 years.

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