BBC Politics South East, 06/11/2022 Marcella Whittingdale and Charlotte Wright

Appearing on the BBC, co-founder of Gymnasts for Change, Claire Heafford, states that British Gymnastics’ proposed reforms do not go far enough. She also says it is ‘crucial’ that there is a change in the law so coaches are subject to the same rules and scrutiny as school teachers.

(Timestamp: 11:46)

SKY NEWS, 18/10/2022 ROB HARRIS AND SARAH-JANE MEE

Following on from British Gymnastics’ Reform ‘25 announcement, Claire Heafford speaks to Sky News. She points out that more needs to be done to tackle abuse and that are large gaps in the document.

ITV NEWS, 18/10/2022 STEVE SCOTT AND TOM BRADBY

Jennifer Mcllveen gives her thoughts on British Gymnastics’ latest announcement of Reform ‘25, a 40-point plan to tackle the systemic abuse of gymnasts that was highlighted in the Whyte Review. She states that there is still a lot more work that needs to be done.

(Timestamp: 24:00)

CNN, 17/06/2022 AMANDA DAVIES

Claire Heafford, former gymnast and co-founder of Gymnasts for Change, speaks to CNN Sport’s Amanda Davies in light of the Whyte Review. She recommends legislative change and the mandatory reporting of abuse.

SKY SPORTS NEWS, 17/06/2022 TOM PARMENTER

Following the publication of the Whyte Review, former British Gymnastics athlete Nicole Pavier and Jennifer Mcllveen OLY speak out about the culture of fear and silence.

BBC SPORT, 17/06/2022 NATALIE PIRKS AND DAN ROAN

Anne Whyte's shocking report into the "systemic" physical and emotional abuse of young athletes is a devastating blow to the reputation of gymnastics. Former gymnast Nicole Pavier speaks to BBC Sport’s Natalie Pirks following the release of the report.

ITV NEWS, 16/06/2022 STEVE SCOTT

A coach-led culture of fear within British Gymnastics that put glory above athletes' well-being led to gymnasts being subjected to physical and emotional abuse, the Whyte Review has found. ITV News reporter Steve Scott hears from former gymnast Jennifer Mcllveen OLY following the review.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS, 16/06/2022 TESSA CHAPMAN

Tessa Chapman hears from former Olympian Jennifer Mcllveen OLY following the release of the shocking Whyte Report which has revealed a terrifying culture of bullying, abuse, and discrimination against children in British Gymnastics. The body says it is committed to the Whyte Report’s recommendations and that it has already made changes.

CHANNEL 4 NEWS, 16/06/2022 JORDAN JARRETT-BRYAN

Jennifer Mcllveen Oly, co-founder of Gymnasts for Change, speaks to Channel 4 News following the publication of the Whyte Review.

BBC NEWS AT 10PM, 12/06/2022
NATALIE PIRKS

A former elite acrobatic gymnast has become the first to win a civil case against British Gymnastics for the abuse she experienced in the sport. Eloise Jotischky says Andrew Griffiths subjected her to inappropriate weight management techniques and verbal harassment when he was her coach at Heathrow Gymnastics Club. British Gymnastics has admitted full liability. It has reached a settlement and Jotischky has received a full apology from the governing body's chief executive. However, after Jotischky had received a letter confirming British Gymnastics' admittance of liability in March, Griffiths went to the World Acrobatic Championships as a Great Britain coach.

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.

BBC NEWS 25/04/2022
NATALIE PIRKS

A leading gymnastics coach was pulled from Great Britain's coaching squad just weeks before the Tokyo Olympics after a serious allegation was made against her, BBC Sport has learned. At the time, Liz Kincaid's retirement from the sport was given as the official reason for her withdrawal. However, British Gymnastics had removed her from the team after an allegation was made about the mental health of one of her former gymnasts. An investigation was launched but British Gymnastics had received other complaints about Kincaid almost a year earlier. Kincaid strongly denies all the allegations. British Gymnastics said the British Olympic Association's rules state no-one with "any unresolved ongoing complaints about them" could attend the Games. A wider independent investigation into allegations of abuse within British gymnastics is ongoing, after a number of current and former gymnasts alleged mistreatment at all levels of the sport in 2020. The final report of the independent review, led by Anne Whyte QC and co-commissioned by Sport England and UK Sport, is due to be published at the end of May.

NBC NEWS 15/07/ 2021

Four-time Olympic medalist and member of the International and U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame, Dominique Dawes, joins News NOW to discuss how the toxic and abusive culture of gymnastics may have contributed to the 18 years of abuse by the long-time Team U.S.A. doctor, Larry Nassar.

ABC NEWS 07/05/2021

Former female gymnasts from the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra have outlined allegations of child physical, psychological and sexual abuse, going back decades. Multiple gymnasts have reported suffering abuse at the AIS, including psychological and sexual mistreatment he AIS funds Gymnastics Australia and provides facilities for coaches and athletes Sports minister Richard Colbeck says he expects an upcoming report to reveal "concerning events and practices within gymnastics" he accusations come as the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) prepares to release an independent report on Monday into the practices of gymnastics in Australia. The report is expected to detail experiences of children suffering from bullying, misconduct, abuse and sexual harassment in the sport going back decades.

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.

ITV 10/10/2020
STEVE SCOTT

For 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. Gymnastics had broken her. It was at the end of another day’s training with the British squad where yet again she says she was criticised for her performance, told she needed to lose weight and told she needed to get fitter. That evening on the phone to her mother, she cried constantly for three hours.

ITV 29/09/2020
LUCY WATSON

Gymnastics coaches sacked from a club, or banned from coaching by a national body, are able to carry on coaching abroad, ITV News can reveal, thanks to a loophole in the international safeguarding system. No international central database keeps on record the names of coaches who have been investigated and found guilty, suspended or banned at club, national or international level. Furthermore, ITV News understands that even if a governing body becomes aware that a banned or sacked coach is working in another country, they are unable to pass on information, unless specifically asked by their new employers. It means coaches are free to repeat the same kind of alleged behaviour from country to country.

ITV 07/09/2020
STEVE SCOTT

Four 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. The action could be both embarrassing and costly for the governing body with allegations aired in open court and considerable damages to pay if the action is successful. The group believes they are all entitled to compensation for various levels of abuse they suffered which has continued to plague them in later life. In their own words: The former gymnast who is considering legal action against British Gymnastics. They are also convinced court action is the only way to guarantee reform within the sport: they say the joint UK Sport, Sport England review is not independent enough and can be obscured by anonymity. In court there is no hiding place.

ITV 23/08/2020

STEVE SCOTT

If you want a blueprint for the perfect modern gymnastics’ coach, you don’t have to look too much further than Aimee Boorman, who guided the incomparable Simone Biles to the majority of her 23 Olympic and world titles. Boorman was told as a young coach that her positive and inclusive approach to athletes would get her nowhere. By then, though, she had already decided that was the only way she was going to be; a method intentionally far removed from how she was treated when she was a gymnast. Boorman was determined not to contribute to a cycle of abuse.

ITV 26/08/2020

STEVE SCOTT

A leading Team GB gymnastics coach has temporarily stepped down from her role amid an investigation into allegations made against her by Rio bronze medalist Amy Tinkler. In a statement, British Gymnastics said Amanda Reddin would “temporarily step aside from her role at Head National Coach to allow an investigation to proceed into claims about her conduct as a coach”. It added: “The investigation will be completely by an external independent expert and any outcome actioned immediately. Our processes and investigations will also be scrutinised by independent review.”

ITV 18/08/2020
STEVE SCOTT

When you watch Christian Cox take to the floor, he has such flair and poise. A real gymnastic talent, but what it took for him to become a World Champion gymnast, as a teenager, was difficult to hear. He was 17 when he won the accolade in Putian, China in 2016, as part of the Men’s 4 Junior Acrobatics team. It was a tremendous achievement. His dream, but it drove him to the point of suicide. Former World Champion Chris Cox told ITV News: "You get pushed to your limits without realising, that you're really not OK here." In the weeks and months leading up to the contest he was perpetually training, four hours a day, seven days a week. He struggled under the pressure of it all, struggled to train in pain and struggled with some of the acrobatic stunts he was required to perform. He started to self-harm. He claims his coaches knew what he was doing.

ITV 18/08/2020
STEVE SCOTT

As Ireland's first ever female Olympic gymnast Ellis O'Reilly is a genuine history-maker; an achievement to make her immensely proud and one she can treasure for the rest of her life. Or so you would imagine. The sadness is that she doesn’t see it that way at all, in fact, when she recalls her stunning career and the impact it’s had on her life she struggles to control the tears. “It makes me really upset that yeah, it was great. I got to the Olympics, but at what cost? I now have health problems from it, I know have a lot of health problems from the sport. I suffer back pain still. Sorry. Can we just stop?” Ellis needs to pause our interview to collect herself.

ITV 30/07/2020

STEVE SCOTT

In the summer of 2012, Britain’s affection for its athletes had never been deeper. The country came to a standstill as Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony led us through a potted British history; we were then entranced on Super Saturday as the gold medal rush began and continued to live and breathe every twist and turn the Games threw up. There was undoubtedly a feel good factor that infected most of us for two-and-a-bit weeks; the usual cynicism which is so often the narrative in the UK temporarily went into hibernation. What added to the spectacle was that Team GB, backed by national lottery funds, had never performed better on the world stage. A fast-growing winning culture meant Britain was starting to challenge the traditional Olympic superpowers, the usual world order was disturbed and we loved it. At British Gymnastics, Jane Allen the CEO, was leading the chase for podium places. She had come here in 2010 after 13 years running gymnastics in Australia. But the “no-nonsense” approach she brought with her and her direct style was unsettling some of those she worked alongside, among them Ros Anwyl, the membership manager.

ITV 14/07/2020

STEVE SCOTT

Olympic bronze medallist Amy Tinkler has revealed she felt she had no option but to quit gymnastics due to her negative experiences in the sport. Tinkler, who won floor bronze at the age of 16 in Rio in 2016, announced her retirement in January this year following three bouts of ankle surgery. But she claims her injuries had nothing to do with her decision, instead adding her voice to those who have criticised the bullying and abuse culture in the domestic sport.

ITV 13/07/2020

STEVE SCOTT

ITV News has named a former elite-level coach allegedly involved in the growing scandal of bullying and abuse of young gymnasts. Craig Lowther, who was head of British Gymnastics' trampoline and tumbling programme which won Team GB's first ever medal in the event at the Rio Games, has been accused of bullying and emotional abuse. Two of his former gymnasts have told ITV News that behind the triumphs he bullied them over their weight and one of them over their sexuality.

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. The former gymnast told ITV News: "They forced me to train in clingfilm and wrapped me up head-to-toe in sweats like it was -10C outside. "It was the height of summer." She recalled the moment she broke her foot - and a coach allegedly accused her of faking despite being in horrific pain. "I heard it snap. I instantly landed and I screamed in pain. The coach at the time said: 'If you want to fake it, I'll make you not fake it', went and got a bucket of ice and forced my foot into this bucket of ice while I was screaming and begging him to stop."

ITV 22/07/2020
STEVE SCOTT

Meeting four women who have excelled at a sport that I marvelled at as a child was always going to impress me, but knowing that they achieved greatness within a culture of fear, intimidation and silence could not fail to have an impact on you. Jennifer Sey and Rachael Denhollander were both American gymnasts. Jen in the 1970s and 80s, Rachael in 1990s. Rachael was the first woman to speak out publicly and bring the US doctor Larry Nassar to court. He was accused and convicted of sexually abusing US gymnasts. He has been ordered to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Jen produced the documentary Athlete A about it. Catherine Lyons and Lisa Mason are British gymnasts. Between them, they represented their nation at European and World Championships, and the Olympic Games. For four women over four decades across two continents, gymnastics was their life. But abuse was at the heart of their achievements. It took the documentary, Athlete A, for them to confront the reality of their experiences. Jen worked as a producer on the film about the physical, psychological and sexual abuse of American gymnasts. It gave both British girls the strength to speak out about physical abuse and bullying. “This is not just something that is happening in Team USA," Lisa says. "This is not something that's happening just in British gymnastics. "This is a worldwide problem. "And seeing that through Athlete A, got my, my emotions up again.”

SKY NEWS 07/2020

MARTHA KELLNER

Seventeen former gymnasts, including three Olympians, are taking legal action against British Gymnastics over what they say was systemic physical and psychological abuse in the sport. The women, now aged between 15 and 43, are seeking compensation for what they claim is ongoing physical and psychological suffering as a result of the alleged abuse - including depression, musculoskeletal conditions and PTSD. The gymnasts involved said changing the culture of the sport is their primary motivation. A Letter Before Action, which arrived with British Gymnastics on Thursday afternoon, claimed abuse was perpetrated by coaches and others employed by the sports governing body at various clubs across the UK. The women, who were between the ages of six and 23 when the alleged abuse took place, claimed that practices included inappropriate use of physical force by coaches against gymnasts, a "cavalier" attitude to injury, and excessive control over diet and fluid intake. Last summer, British gymnasts followed their American counterparts in speaking about physical and emotional abuse in the sport.

ITV 10/07/2020
STEVE SCOTT

The head of British Gymnastics is under growing pressure to resign following a string of bullying, and physical and emotional abuse allegations in the sport. The allegations brought to light by ITV News have prompted Cartoon Network - a major financial partner - to publicly suspend its partnership with the organisation. ITV News has heard from a string of gymnasts who have revealed "traumatic" experiences at the hands of their coaches from a young age. British Gymnastics has pledged an independent review, but there are now calls for change at the top of the organisation. On Thursday World Championship medallists Becky and Ellie Downie described "an environment of fear and mental abuse" in the sport - the latest high-profile gymnasts to speak out.

ITV 08/07/2020

STEVE SCOTT

Former Olympic gymnast Louis Smith has spoken out about a "culture of fear" within British Gymnastics amid a storm of abuse allegations in the sport. In an Instagram post, the retired artistic gymnast said only "the outright best gymnasts" felt able to speak out about issues at an elite level without repercussions. The stinging criticism came after ITV News revealed allegations of abuse and bullying by gymnastics coaches at various levels of the sport - including an eight-year-old girl who said coaches screamed in her face during training.

ITV 07/07/2020

STEVE SCOTT

ITV 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.

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.

ITV NEWS 05/12/2020
STEVE SCOTT

Multiple Olympic medallist Louis Smith has told ITV News it is “disgusting” the current CEO of British Gymnastics Jane Allen has been allowed to leave on her own terms in the wake of the abuse scandal that has engulfed the sport she runs. Speaking for the first time about Allen’s decision to retire, the four times Olympic medallist said: “I’ve seen the statements from people commentating on how amazing she’s been and the leadership has excelled under her view. "I think it’s disgusting and a slap in the face for all the people who’ve had so many traumatic things happen to them under her watch.”