The world of gymnastics needs a restart after the strong accusations

It is hard food that former Swiss athletes report on the conditions at the performance center in Magglingen. It’s about time you finally listened to them.

As the “Magazin” showed on Saturday (subject to a fee), intimidation, humiliation and abuse are part of the daily life of young girls in artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics.

According to the authors, the two sports have two things in common. Both are sports for boys (girls’ bodies have an advantage over women) and both are particularly affected by violence.

After allegations had been raised in the recent past, the Swiss Gymnastics Association (STV) “reacted” in the summer and eventually fired national gymnastics coach Iliana Dineva, and senior sports director Felix Stingelin was suspended. An internal investigation has been launched. But the problem has not been solved and lies in the system in which the association itself operates.

Bad excesses

“Hope is the only thing stronger than fear,” explains the dictatorial President Snow in the movie “The Hunger Games” when asked why the “Hunger Games” are being held. With the young people he hoped to one day be able to participate in the Olympic Games. Because of this dream, they learned to suffer from day one and to be silent.

While supervisors and coaches abuse their authority for athletic success, young adolescents submit to their oppressors without protest. In retrospect, the eight former athletes interviewed openly report on anxiety and eating disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts.

Former gymnast great Ariella Kaeslin said she was trapped in a golden cage: “In Magglingen I always felt like they were watching me. I was never free, never. Although it could come out at any time. I made myself a prison. I felt like they were watching me and I was looking at myself. I was paranoid. It was terrible.”

At some point, his body stopped doing it: “It started with crawling symptoms, nothing you notice immediately: milky disc in front of your head, you can no longer notice what is going on around you. I always had the feeling that I had to find the solution, the doctors just had to find the right medication and then it would work again. I was looking for something to help me. ”

“Then came the cognitive disorders: I could no longer read texts or follow complicated discussions, I always felt so stupid. Then the memories disappeared. Later I understood that memories are linked to emotions. If you don’t feel anything, you can’t remember anything either. As a gymnast, you think: if I kill myself, not only will it finally end, but you also think: so I can kill the coach, ”said the 33-year-old Lucerne.

The exchange of leaders has shown no progress

The fact that STV athletes have been victims of abusive behavior for years is due in part to the exponents. Apparently eliminating some controversial people wasn’t enough. Recently resigned gymnasts Lynn Genhart and Fabienne Studer also criticized current women’s national coach Fabien Martin, whose contract was recently extended until 2024 by the STV. The Frenchman succeeded Zoltan Jordanov in 2017.

According to Studer, Martin threatened to get fired from the start. This is part of the culture of fear that prevails in Magglingen. And Genhart said, “Fabien had different strategies to bring us down.” One of them was comments on the eating behavior and body weight of athletes.

This fateful system kept many people in active or passive roles. Some were certainly aware of the toxic environment, others did not realize the dimensions of the problem. One factor lies in the sport itself: its nature, with its strict discipline, attracts shady characters who can vent here. The development of gymnastics from women’s sports to children’s sports has also exacerbated the problem.

Whats Next?

Raising the current age limit would be just a small first step. Much more important: the shift from girls’ sports to women’s sports must be reversed. The best argument in favor is the dumper Simone Biles, showing exceptional performance at the advanced gymnastics age of 23.

The American story also underscores that the problems on the scene are global. For example, his former team doctor Larry Nassar sexually abused more than 250 girls, including Biles himself. According to the researchers, the number of unreported cases is likely to double. The fact that such a tragedy occurred in gymnastics is significant, but unfortunately not surprising.

This is why the Swiss gymnastics scene must be put to the test. A fresh start is not only necessary, but the only acceptable solution. Otherwise, you will have to mercilessly cancel both sports at the performance level. Too many young people are at risk. There have already been too many victims.