‘I was screaming and begging him to stop’: Former gymnast recalls training horror which ended Olympic dream
A former gymnast has claimed a coach verbally abused her after she had snapped her foot in training, suffered taunts about her weight and was forced to wrap herself in clingfilm.
Lamara Robb suffered in silence while training as she had set her heart on a medal at the Beijing games of 2008 – but her dream died when she broke her foot in training.
The former gymnast told ITV News: “They forced me to train in clingfilm and wrapped me up head-to-toe in sweats like it was -10C outside.
“It was the height of summer.”
She recalled the moment she broke her foot – and a coach allegedly accused her of faking despite being in horrific pain.
“I heard it snap. I instantly landed and I screamed in pain. The coach at the time said: ‘If you want to fake it, I’ll make you not fake it’, went and got a bucket of ice and forced my foot into this bucket of ice while I was screaming and begging him to stop.”