In the British sports world, a serious scandal broke out. Gymnasts reported systematic sexual violence by coaches one after another, with european and world championship medalists among the victims. According to the athletes, they grew up in a "culture of fear," which disrupted their health. In June 2022, a full report was released with a description of numerous violations: now the British Gymnastics Federation is awaiting verification at all levels. What exactly the athletes blamed the coaches for, how these violations were hidden for decades, and why the British blamed the Soviets for what happened.
"Throughout my career, I've been ashamed of my weight and today I'm still hiding food. This endless close scrutiny of my weight has left deep wounds that will never heal. After an uphill emotional struggle, when I wasn't in the gym, I finally started to accept my body, but not a gymnast," Ellie Downey, a medalist at the 2020 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, told the BBC.
Through this interview and similar statements from other athletes, a truly heated discussion of the issue of violence in sport in the UK began – a matter of physical and psychological abuse, with underage gymnasts being abused at every level: from clubs to countries.
Meanwhile, lawyer Anne White, at the behest of British Sport and England Sport, has long been interested in the situation. On 16 June 2022, The Guardian reported on the release of a full report on the problem of rhythmic gymnastics in the country, covering the period 2008-2020.
It's a 306-page document detailing the irregularities that coaches have committed against athletes. All the information was based on complaints from gymnasts: According to White, she received more than 400 appeals from former and current athletes and parents. At the same time, there were 39 very serious cases, and data on these cases were handed over to local authorities.
The British rhythmic gymnastics team at the 2020 Olympic Games
The report describes incidents of physical and psychological violence against minors. Accordingly, coaches at all levels often inflict injuries on wards during training, for example, beating them with wooden sticks, taking complete control of their weight and nutrition, regularly searching rooms for prohibited foods, publicly insulting the slightest offense. "Sometimes, for example, coaches know there is an eating disorder among gymnasts but continue to humiliate her in front of everyone," White noted.
White also reported 30 cases of sexual and sexual violence, but stressed that unlike all of the above, it was not a systemic issue.
In July 2020, several gymnasts from the UK said in an interview with the BBC that their sport was abusive. One of the girls, Nicole Pavier, said she began developing bulimia at the age of 14, which subsequently forced her to end her career. "I still hate the way I look, I still feel like I'm overweight, I still wake up thinking I haven't eaten breakfast for days," she describes the aftermath of the situation.
In addition, the source writes that the athlete was forced to train despite the injury: one case described how an athlete vomited in pain due to a broken wrist and was forced to move. Another girl broke a rib during training, but she didn't dare tell the coach about it, and she had a serious problem with her lungs. In addition, some former gymnasts complain of depression and anxiety. Years later, the girls are still forced to take medication.
Then the leadership of the British gymnastics community reacted with rather general terms. "We condemn any act that harms the well-being of gymnasts. This behavior is a complete violation of the standard of safe learning," the federation said.
One of the main figures in the "culture of fear" is Amanda Redding, the former head coach of the English women's football team. In 2020, she temporarily resigned after the first allegations came out, and in 2022 she was eventually fired.
The first to criticize the expert were bronze medalist Amy Tinkler at the 2016 Olympics and Ruby Harrold, bronze medalist at the 2015 World Cup. According to the athletes, at the training camp, Reading starved them to death, where they felt as if they were in prison. The BBC published a memoir of a gymnast who trained with Reading in the 1980s. According to the girl, the coach constantly insulted her and at one point slapped her.
Amanda Reading
Meanwhile, the girls' complaints to the National Federation were not immediately taken into account — Tinkerer wrote about it on social networks. "This has heightened my fear and that of all gymnasts that complaints are not being dealt with fairly and independently. That's why we don't talk. That's why we suffer in silence. We know it's pointless to talk," the athlete argued.
As the story unfolded, the coach herself disagreed with the allegations and said she had never used "excessive force" against gymnasts, not defeating them, but simply showing how they should work. "I completely refuted the allegations. I hope that all allegations will be submitted for independent review. This will protect the integrity of the process for athletes and coaches," Reading said.
After the expert was fired, the federation noted that she had made a significant contribution to the development of sport. They added that Reading was assisting in the investigation.