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Former German top gymnast Janine Berger has called for external control mechanisms in the wake of wide-ranging abuse allegations centring on the Stuttgart training centre.
“It doesn’t do me any good to employ independent people in federations because they will also be rooted in this structure again,” Berger told brodcaster RTL/ntv.
“We need someone who looks at it from the outside.”
Allegations have emerged since late December – led by former elite gymnasts Tabea Alt and Michelle Timm – who have reported issues at the centre, including “systematic physical and mental abuse.”
Two coaches have been provisionally suspended until January 19, and the national federation DTB and regional body STB plan to establish a commission to engage with gymnasts, parents, coaches and federation officials on the affair.
The DTB said that immediate measures have been taken, without specifying what they are. It has called for patience in its effort to implement change.
Berger, who came fourth in the 2012 Olympics vault competition, also spoke of abuse, saying that she was for instance told she missed a medal because of her weight.
“It went in the direction of humiliation, from constantly being told during training that you were too fat to being forbidden to drink water because that would also affect your body weight,” she said.
“I was advised not to eat any more. Sometimes my financial support was cancelled because of my weight.
“It really got to the point where my everyday life consisted of eating, exercising and throwing up. That simply can’t be the case for the future generation.”
She said that every competitive athlete likes to train hard but that “there is a huge difference between training hard and demonstrating power and psychological abuse.
“There’s no fine line, it’s a clear boundary.”
