Agency Report
Stuttgart – The German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) has called for patience in its attempt for structural and cultural change amid more abuse allegations directed at the Stuttgart training centre.
The DTB told dpa in a statement on Tuesday it has to “regularly scrutinise which measures make sense and contribute to a sustainable change in the system and where further adjustments and improvements need to be made.
“However, the desired cultural and structural change will still take some time.
“In 2021, we set out to fundamentally change the system and, in our opinion, we are making good progress in many areas.
“But we have to realise that, on the one hand, it will probably take longer until we have penetrated the gyms at all levels and the measures are effective across the board and, on the other hand, further measures are necessary.”
A series of allegations
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 suspended until January 19, and the 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.
Change efforts since 2021
It said it started its efforts in 2021 after internal complaints from Alt and that it has adressed areas including dealing with injuries, communication, pedagogical management and stress management.
The DTB said that national team coach Gerben Wiersma and junior national team coach Claudia Schunk will take on assignments in Stuttgart this week, “to ensure the best possible training for the squad athletes.”
More allegations
Former German youth champion Kim Janas was meanwhile the latest to issue abuse allegations on Instagram.
Now 25, she retired at young age in late 2016 after a third cruciate ligament tear but said that the abuse trauma is still there.
“Eight years on I am not fully healed but I have found a way to deal with it,” Janas said.
No sweets, no water
Janas outlined that weight and nutrition was always high on the agenda.
“There was everything from daily weigh-ins to checking your bag to make sure there were no sweets in it,” she said.
She recalled jumping around on the bed during training camps “to lose a few grams. For fear that I’d get a bollocking at tomorrow’s weigh-in and be exposed once again.”
Janas said she was labelled “the fat one” because she had 9% body fat and that she was not allowed to eat bread, spreads and sausage, or even drink water.
Too many fears
Looking at her early retirement, she said: “Maybe my body would have made it. But not my head. The fears were too great.
“Not just the fear of getting injured again and again and having to endure the pain during training. No, also the fear of once again not being taken seriously and being dropped, of having to keep training even though you don’t know whether you’ll land on your feet or on your head again after the double flip.”
By Christoph Johner
