Women’s Artistic Gymnastics has since the 2016 USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal and the release of the Netflix documentary Athlete A in 2020, experienced a significant global reckoning.
Never before have gymnasts from around the world turned to journalists and online media to disclose the realities they have experienced – violent coaching behaviours, abusive training methods, individual and organisational neglect and negligence, and a myriad of short and long-term consequences to health, well-being, identity and more generally, lives. Gymnasts for Change was founded in 2020, following the Gymnast Alliance Movement on Twitter to support gymnasts around the world to use their voice to affect long-term transformative culture change across the sport.
The Gymnast Alliance MOVEMENT
Jennifer McIlveen - Founder of the #gymnastalliance & Gymnast for Change Ambassador
“Watching documentary Athlete A, there were moments that felt far too close to home for me and many of the gymnasts I know and trained with in the UK. In response, I drafted a statement for the Gymnastics community to share, taking a stand against abusive practices. Gymnasts for Change is the next step on this journey to a brighter future”.
Athletes Around the World speak out
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Alison Quigley, Australia
“For decades I said nothing about the sexual abuse I suffered at the hands of my gymnastics coach. Everything changed in 2016 when the radio began streaming Australia’s Royal Commission testimony - stories of abusers across all sports hurting children who had been trapped in the same position as me. I spoke to the police, our team was amazing and we secured a conviction in 2017”.
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Amelia Cline, Canada
“After watching the Athlete A documentary and hearing stories of other brave gymnasts, I shared my own story in 2020 which set me on an incredible journey into survivor advocacy. Since publishing my blog, I have had the opportunity to connect with current and former gymnasts with similar stories of abuse across the country. Together we have helped to create a survivor network in Canada of over 500 people calling on our sports and government leaders to demand change”.
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Rachael Denhollander, USA
“Survivors are having to fight to heal from their own abuse, while also telling the truth to change the culture and policy of the sport which is an incredible weight to put on them; and I hope what comes out of the Whyte Review is that the leaders and those in positions of authority, complicit in the system, are removed - and a new generation of leaders comes in to take up that mantel, lifting some of the burden off the survivors - carrying it with them, and for them.”
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NICOLE PAVIER, UK
“I’m a former elite gymnast and now a children’s nurse practitioner with a specialist interest in mental health and safeguarding. I trained at several clubs across the UK and suffered abuse in two separate regions, making me aware of the systemic nature of the problems in our sport. It is paramount to me that National Governing Bodies enhance their knowledge of safeguarding by listening to those who have lived experience of abuse to create meaningful and lasting change.”
addiction & gymnastics.
In November 2022, Nile Wilson gave a TED Talk about the dark side of life as an Olympic Gymnast. Here he outlines the relationship between his struggles with addiction, eating disorders, risk taking, and gambling and the mindset required to win medals on a world stage.
the chaos of healing.
In gymnastics, the line between hard work and abuse is frequently violated. Here Gabriela Santacruz, a former gymnast from Ecuador, shares her experiences of being an elite gymnast and the overwhelming effects she experienced from over-training, body shaming and multiple forms of emotional and physical abuse. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format (independently organised by a local community at the University of Northumbria).
More Voices
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Kim Bui Makes Public Statement to German Parliment about Coercive Control in Gymnastics
2021
The coercion, the pressure, the abuse, the eating disorders, the physical and emotional injuries have been absolutely taboo subjects for us up to now. Everyone knows about it, only very few dare to talk about it because they fear consequences. There is the fear of being dropped from the national squad, of being ostracized in the training group, of losing internal competitions and of showing fundamental weakness. The reasons why most have remained silent so far are many.
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Shawn Johnson Speaks to the Imposters Podcast
IMPOSTERS PODCAST
17 /06/ 2022Shawn Johnson East shares how she struggled finding her identity beyond gymnastics after retiring from competition. She talks disordered eating, the effect that external pressures and a search for validation had on her self-image, and how she has learnt to accept that she no longer needs to maintain an unrealistic self-image to please a public hungry for who is was when she was 16 years old.
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Dominique Dawes in Conversation with Lesley Visser
02/06/2022
Dominique Dawes once felt so controlled by her coach, Kelli Hill, that she said Hill terrified her into silence by threatening to send Dominique to "the Karolyi Ranch," the highly-regarded but fiercely intimidating program run by icons Martha and Bela Karolyi. It's a culture Dawes wants to change.
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Jennifer Sey Speaks to Shift Movement Podcast:
12/01/2021
Jen See Speak to Dave Tilley of Shift Movement about Athlete A and her experiences as a gymnast.
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EX-BRITISH GYMNAST Nicole Pavier, DISCUSSES her experiences of abuse in gymnastics
SPORT UNLOCKED 17/06/2022
Episode 73 of Sport Unlocked, the podcast dissecting the week's sports news issues with interviews and insight from Rob Harris, Martyn Ziegler and Tariq Panja. Sport Unlocked discuss the suffering of young gymnasts in Britain. They are joined by Nicole Pavier, one of the athletes who sparked the review that has now set out the culture of physical and emotional abuse by coaches in British gymnastics.
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CLAIRE HEAFFord in conversation with Anita Rani
BBC RADIO 4: WEEKEND WOMAN’S HOUR 17/06/2022
Following a two-year investigation into bullying, abuse, and discrimination, the Whyte Review into British gymnastics is finally published. Claire Heafford, co-founder and campaign director of Gymnasts for Change, joins Anita Rani to discuss its contents.
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FORMER GYMNAST SPEAKS TO CHLOE TILLEY ABOUT HER EXPERIENCES OF BRITISH GYMNASTICS AFTER THE RELEASE OF THE WHYTE REPORT
TIMES RADIO BREAKFAST 17/06/2022 CHLOE TILLEY
Jennifer McIlveen OLY, who represented Great Britain in the 2012 summer Olympics, shares her experiences of the ‘culture of fear and abuse’ in British Gymnastics in the aftermath of the Whyte Report. She states that the belief of Gymnasts For Change is that happier and healthier gymnasts will perform better and be physically and mentally able to achieve.
(Timestamp: 3:06:38)
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FORMER GYMNASTS SPEAK OUT ABOUT ABUSIVE CULTURE AT ALL LEVELS OF BRITISH GYMNASTICS
BBC RADIO 2 JEREMY VINE 16/06/2022
A culture of fear, cruel behaviour, excessive physical force, and extreme dieting has been revealed within British Gymnastics. Former gymnasts Eloise Jotischky speaks to Jeremy Vine about her experiences.
(Timestamp: 35:38)
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'Horrific injury' ignored by leading coach
BBC NEWS 25/04/2022
NATALIE PIRKS
A former British national squad gymnast speaks about her experiences of being coached by celebrated WAG coach Liz Kincaid. -
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Alarming Report Accuses AIS Of Bullying, Abuse And Sexual Harassment Of Gymnasts | The Projec
THE PROJECT 03/05/2021
A damning report has confirmed what Aussie gymnasts say everyone in the sport already knew, that abuse is rife from junior levels right up to the most elite. We spoke to former gymnast Dr Sophie Vivian, who said swimmers at the AIS used to sneak the gymnasts food.
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'Beaten and starved': Stars allege abuse at heart of British Gymnastics
ITV 06/07/2020
STEVE SCOTT
Catherine Lyons is 19 years old now and is recalling her stunning gymnastics career. But she’s not smiling, that’s because, despite being a world class athlete; a junior European and British champion, the memories hurt deeply. Throughout her time competing at an elite level, as a very young girl and then as a teenager, she was not only assaulted but bullied by her coach. She was made to train even when injured and was tormented about her weight. -
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Amy Tinkler: 'I’d give up my Olympic medal if I could change what gymnastics has done to me'
ITV 10/10/2020
STEVE SCOTTFor Amy Tinkler, Britain’s youngest Olympian in Rio who stunned the gymnastics world when she won a bronze medal, it all ended in tears, alone in her room at the national headquarters in Lilleshall. Without telling anyone, she climbed into her car and set off home to escape the sport that had dragged her into such a dark place.
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THE PROJECT TV, AUSTRALIA
26/05/2022
Abuse, weight shaming and a ‘win at all costs’ culture. These are just some of the claims made by 130 former gymnasts against the Western Australian Institute of Sport, who say the problem is systemic. A warning, this story contains details that may be triggering. Thank you to Jen, Aya and Georgia for sharing your voices with so much strength and power. We hear you and we stand with you - it’s well and truly time for change.
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Four Olympians among former gymnasts in talks to launch legal action against British Gymnastics
ITV 07/09/2020
STEVE SCOTTFour Olympians are among a growing number of athletes on the verge of launching group legal action against British Gymnastics. Upwards of 20 gymnasts are close to putting their names to civil proceedings - and that number is rising daily.
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'I was screaming and begging him to stop': Former gymnast recalls training horror which ended Olympic dream
ITV 11/07/2020
STEVE SCOTT
A former gymnast has claimed a coach verbally abused her after she had snapped her foot in training, suffered taunts about her weight and was forced to wrap herself in clingfilm. Lamara Robb suffered in silence while training as she had set her heart on a medal at the Beijing games of 2008 - but her dream died when she broke her foot in training.
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Girl, 8, describes bullying by gymnastics coaches as review is pledged
ITV 07/07/2020
STEVE SCOTTITV News has uncovered further allegations of bullying, and physical and emotional abuse within gymnastics. Following a report on the lasting impacts athletes have endured from their experiences - including being "beaten and starved" during training - more gymnasts have come forward to share their experiences in the sport. Including an eight-year-old girl who says she has already experienced abuse in the sport she loves.
