British youth gymnasts starved, denied toilet breaks, and made to hang from rings as a punishment, damning report reveals

The Whyte Review was published Thursday. Getty A damning report into British Gymnastics has unearthed horrific stories of abuse of child athletes. The Whyte Report revealed that children as young as seven were abused by coaches.

Some were sat on and starved of food while others were made to hang from bars as a punishment.   Youth gymnasts were starved, denied toilet breaks, and made to hang from rings as a punishment, a damning report into British Gymnastics has revealed. The Whyte Report, an independent review co-commissioned by UK Sport and Sport England in 2020 and released on Thursday, revealed that British Gymnastics had, between 2008 and 2020, enabled a culture of physical and emotional abuse.

Based on more than 400 submissions from those within the sport, the report unearthed stories of gymnasts as young as seven being sat on by coaches, made to train with injuries, and having their bags searched for food. The report said that girls under the age of 12 were subjected to some of the worst treatment, caused by “long-standing cultural problems” within the sport. It said that British Gymnastics, the sport’s national governing body in the UK, had “not only failed to prevent or limit such behaviors but had condoned some of them in the pursuit of national and international competitive success.

“Until 2008, no British gymnast had ever won an Olympic medal. In the last four Games, however, British gymnasts have won 16. British Gymnastics also kept no records of complaints made by gymnasts from 2008 and 2016 and that a “culture of fear” meant many were too scared to ever come forward.

Jane Allen, the former chief executive of British Gymnastics who retired in December 2020, was criticized in the report for failing to “appreciate the central importance of athlete welfare. “Sarah Powell, the governing body’s new chief executive, offered a full apology on Thursday in light of the report. “I had to speak to gymnasts this morning,” she said.

“And it was hard. Because you could see how it affected them. I looked them in the eye and said sorry.

It is not acceptable. “It’s emotional for me. I’m a mum and sport is not supposed to do this.

But gymnastics will be different because of the bravery of the young people who spoke up. “Powell was unable to say if any of the coaches responsible for the abuse were still in the British system, but she insisted: “There are great coaches, hundreds of thousands of young people enjoying the sport day in, day out. “In a joint statement, UK Sport and Sport England said: “The gymnasts’ experiences shared in this review are harrowing and distressing to read.

No-one in sport should ever be subjected to such abuse. “We want to publicly acknowledge and thank all of those who were courageous in coming forward. Your voices are heard.

You have played a vital part in fundamentally shaping the future of gymnastics in Britain, to help make it safe and inclusive for future generations to come. “Moving forward, the 306-page report suggested that British Gymnastics should “revise and upgrade its mandatory safeguarding courses” and “revise and improve welfare conditions. “It also suggested that the British Gymnastics board regularly publish details of its progress, as it relates to compliance with the recommendations — with the expectation that “most if not all” are implemented within two years.

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