A former Greek gym coah is questioned by his former athletes.
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Luis ROBAYO / AFP
Twenty-two former Greek gymnasts, women and men, this week sent a letter to the President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou, complaining of having suffered decades of mistreatment "akin to torture" by the from their coaches, reveals the daily
EfSyn
on Wednesday
.
In this letter, the gymnasts evoke “hard and abusive” practices, the starting point of which dates back to 1985, including food deprivation, psychological and physical punishment and sexual harassment.
"For the first time, a large number of gymnasts massively protest against the psychological and physical abuse suffered by a large number of them", declared the lawyer of the plaintiffs, Alexandros Adamidis, in the daily newspaper.
According to the contents of this letter, coaches allegedly slapped, kicked, pushed and threw objects at gymnasts in training, and even dragged some girls by the hair.
Radio silence from the gym federation
Some of the athletes were forced to train while injured, they also say in the letter, which also notes disciplinary measures such as training in extreme temperatures and bans on using the bathroom.
Due to very strict weight loss requirements, some claim to have been starved to the point of passing out and secretly resorting to consuming toothpaste and leftover food.
The Greek Gymnastics Federation, which elected a new president last month, did not react after the letter was revealed.
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