The young gymnasts starved to death and were forced to hang on to the rings as punishment as part of an abusive culture in British gymnastics, according to a new condemned report.
The Whyte Review, which examined more than 400 complaints, uncovered an “unacceptable culture” that has left countless young people humiliated, embarrassed, and psychologically or physically permanently harmed by their time in the sport.
The report found that the coaches had publicly embarrassed the young girls for their weight; in some cases, gymnasts were forced to hang from the gym rings for an extended period of time to arrive late.
Another young athlete was forced to keep his balance on the beam for two hours as punishment.
Young people were also prevented from going to the toilet and were forbidden to drink water during long training sessions.
One gymnast reported that she had been sworn in regularly since the age of nine.
Another said, “The coach was yelling at us and shouting at our face so close that I could smell (his) breath and feel (his) spit landing on my face.”
Gymnasts were also required to wear a “dunce cap” if they could not complete a particular movement.
The obsession with sport with the weight and appearance of an athlete was also highlighted as a central issue.
“Weight gain was sometimes accompanied by an uneducated attitude toward diet and a humiliating choice of language,” the review said.
“The tyranny of the scales was led by the coach and quite unnecessary.
“The gymnasts took what can only be described as unhealthy steps, such as purging or dehydrating, to keep their weight low to meet the demands of their coach.”
The review came after the Netflix documentary “Athlete A” revealed allegations of sexual abuse in American gymnastics.
Read more: 17 former gymnasts take legal action against British gymnastics for “physical and psychological abuse”
Although 30 allegations of sexual abuse were made as part of the UK investigation, the vast majority of complaints focused on physical and emotional abuse.
A culture of silence and a gymnast’s confidence in her coaches made complaints difficult to file; if problems arose, the processes for dealing with them often failed.
The governing body of sport, British Gymnastics, was described as an “insular organization” that was disconnected from sport, gymnasts and people involved in sport.
The review said “they did not guarantee that clubs and coaches, including national coaches, would act responsibly”.
Sarah Powell, who took over as executive director of British gymnastics in 2021, has offered a total apology.
He said: “The practices of the past will not be the practices of the future.
“I think this is a key moment to safeguard not just gymnastics but all sports.
“This is a genuine apology … we have to set a new path, gymnastics will be different because of the courage of those who have spoken.”
He promised to try to undo the sport of abusive coaches, but acknowledged that some still work within the sport.
“No one in sport should be subjected to this kind of abuse”
Anne Whyte QC included occasional criticism of politicians for their lack of independent oversight of the sport.
She said: “One wonders how many sports scandals it will take before the government of the day recognizes that more measures need to be taken to protect children involved in sport, an area where coaches do not have a central regulator and where most complaints do not are independent resolution.
“An ombudsman is an obvious step in the right direction.”
In a joint statement UK Sport and Sport England said: “The experiences of the gymnasts shared in this review are appalling and distressing to read. No one in sport should be subjected to this kind of abuse.
“Existing warranty systems clearly did not identify, until relatively recently, long – standing cultural issues in gymnastics, and that is why we are sorry.
“British gymnastics clearly fell short … we believe that the withdrawal of funding would not only prevent them from implementing the vital changes described in the report, but would also negatively affect the support and well-being of gymnasts now.”
For anyone who has been affected by the findings detailed by the review, an NSPCC hotline has now been established at 0800 587 6696.