Made to hang from rings, sworn at and body shamed
‘Abusive culture’ towards young gymnasts is exposed in review
YOUNG British gymnasts were subjected to shocking levels of abuse, a hard-hitting report concluded yesterday.
Half of more than 400 submissions to the review by Anne Whyte QC reported emotional abuse, 9% involved sex abuse, and more than 66% were “critical in tone”.
Young gymnasts were starved and made to hang from rings in punishment for being late, while also being subjected to swearing and name-calling.
The review uncovered “unacceptable” demands such as being prevented from going to the toilet and banned from drinking water during long training sessions.
One athlete was made to balance on the beam for two hours, while a “dunce’s cap” was used to humiliate others.
Coaches also publicly shamed young girls over their weight.
“Weight-taking was, at times, accompanied by an uneducated attitude to diet and a humiliating choice of language,” the review said.
“The tyranny of the scales was coach-led and quite unnecessary.”
In the wake of the review, jointly commissioned by UK Sport and Sport England in 2020, campaigners are calling for a new limit on training hours for child athletes. They warned overtraining can have a significant impact on wellbeing, and can lead to injuries.
Athletes, coaches and officials, who formed Gymnasts for Change, welcomed the recommendations around the complaints handling process, training for coaches and updated welfare policies.
They said: “British Gymnastics failed to recognise that negative
coaching tech niques had the potential to cause physical and emotional harm.
“Medals were prioritised over athlete welfare.”
They called on the Government to introduce legislation on child abuse, including mandatory reporting of known and suspected child sexual abuse.
The review was commissioned following claims of mistreatment during a golden era.
The report found there was a sense British Gymnastics had “not only failed to prevent or limit such behaviours but had condoned some in the pursuit of national and international competitive success”.
Ms Whyte said: “I am confident the sport of gymnastics is already undergoing change for the good.”
UK Sport and Sport England said they “endorsed” the recommendations, and stressed gymnastics’ continued funding would “depend on its new leadership teams making significant changes to the sport”.
British Gymnastics wanted to “wholeheartedly apologise” to gymnasts who had suffered and said it would “not shy away from doing what is needed”. A Government spokesman recognised the courage of “gymnasts, parents, coaches and others who have come forward to share their experiences”.
He said: “It is vital everyone feels safe and secure, with any allegations of inappropriate or harmful behaviour taken with the utmost seriousness.”
The tyranny of the scales was led by coaches and quite unnecessary
ANNE WHYTE QC ON THE ISSUE OF WEIGHT-TAKING