A coach-led culture of fear within British Gymnastics that put glory above athletes’ well-being led to gymnasts being subjected to physical and emotional abuse, a new review has found. The Whyte Review, commissioned after an ITV News investigation into abuse in British Gymnastics, laid bare the extent of the mistreatment at both elite and amateur…
WARNING: This article contains distressing details. A former elite acrobatic gymnast has become the first to win a civil case against British Gymnastics for the abuse she experienced in the sport. Eloise Jotischky says Andrew Griffiths subjected her to inappropriate weight management techniques and verbal harassment when he was her coach at Heathrow Gymnastics Club….
The International Gymnastics Federation has introduced a new code of conduct to promote “a positive culture based on fundamental principles of integrity, respect, honesty and fairness”. The announcement follows several years of controversy for the sport. In 2018, USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar was jailed after abusing at least 265 women. An investigation into…
British Gymnastics’ head national coach Amanda Reddin has stepped down from the position with immediate effect. In 2020, Reddin temporarily stepped aside while an investigation into claims about her conduct took place. The claims were not upheld and her suspension was lifted, but another independent investigation is ongoing into “further historical complaints”. British Gymnastics said…
WARNING: This article contains distressing details. A leading gymnastics coach was pulled from Great Britain’s coaching squad just weeks before the Tokyo Olympics after a serious allegation was made against her, BBC Sport has learned. At the time, Liz Kincaid’s retirement from the sport was given as the official reason for her withdrawal. However, British…
A group of more than 70 current and former gymnasts has called for an independent investigation into “toxic culture and abusive practices” within Canadian gymnastics. A letter was sent to Sport Canada’s director general Vicki Walker on Monday, saying multiple complaints have been made against Canadian coaches. It added that the fear of retribution prevented…
Former gymnast Rachael Denhollander says there is work to do to make the sport safer for children, and that there has not been “much tangible effect” from the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal. In 2018, former US gymnastics team doctor Nassar was imprisoned for 300 years for molesting gymnasts. Denhollander, now 37, was the first…
Elite US gymnast Simone Biles has testified before the Senate about abuse she suffered at the hands of disgraced former team doctor, Larry Nassar. Former teammates Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney also appeared before the committee, along with FBI Director Christopher Wray. The committee is examining shortcomings in the FBI’s investigation into Nassar, later convicted…
British Gymnastics chairman Mike Darcey has apologised to the gymnastics community for failing to act on allegations of mistreatment within the sport. The governing body was criticised in 2020 after a number of ex-gymnasts say they trained under a “culture of fear”. “We must do better to ensure there is no place for abuse in…
She was an Olympics child prodigy who could never say what Simone Biles did — no. Twenty-five years later, gold medallist Dominique Moceanu speaks about not having a voice — and how things have changed for the better. It was five weeks before the 1996 Olympics when Dominique Moceanu collapsed in the gym. The 14-year-old…