British Gymnastics to investigate alleged abuse of elite Olympic athletes

Olympians describe culture of ‘fat-shaming’ and ‘fear’ within sport

Gymnastics
Britain’s Elissa Downie competes in the beam event during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
(Image credit: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images)

The governing body for gymnastics in the UK has announced an independent inquiry into allegations of “serious physical and emotional abuse” made by elite athletes.

One former British Olympic gymnast described being “made to train until her hands ripped and bled”, while another said she was “locked in a cupboard by her coach as a ten-year-old”, The Guardian says.

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Joe Evans is the world news editor at TheWeek.co.uk. He joined the team in 2019 and held roles including deputy news editor and acting news editor before moving into his current position in early 2021. He is a regular panellist on The Week Unwrapped podcast, discussing politics and foreign affairs. 

Before joining The Week, he worked as a freelance journalist covering the UK and Ireland for German newspapers and magazines. A series of features on Brexit and the Irish border got him nominated for the Hostwriter Prize in 2019. Prior to settling down in London, he lived and worked in Cambodia, where he ran communications for a non-governmental organisation and worked as a journalist covering Southeast Asia. He has a master’s degree in journalism from City, University of London, and before that studied English Literature at the University of Manchester.