British Gymnastics Federation President Mike Darcey apologized and admitted that the body had "let down" its members, as 37 former gymnasts took legal action for harassment and ill-treatment.

“As we stick to great moments at the Tokyo Olympics, we must also recognize that, alongside the rapid growth of gymnastics over the past decade, our organization has, in many ways, failed to grow from the same way, ”explained Mike Darcey in an open letter published Tuesday evening.

"We let you down"

“The board of directors has taken an inventory over the past few months.

It is obvious that the management and the board of directors have failed to be close enough to the gymnasts to understand your concerns, and our commitment on this subject has not been up to par ”, the text continues.

“We have let you down, and we are deeply sorry for that,” added the President of British Gymnastics.

The British federation is pursued by 37 former gymnasts, including three Olympic medalists, who explain having been victims of physical and psychological abuse, which they describe as systemic.

Mike Darcey also admitted that the training culture around gymnastics needs to change to ensure a less toxic environment for athletes.

"Even though we recognize that the practice of sport is excellent in the UK, we must assure all practitioners that abusive methods, including insults, harassment, yelling and grossophobia are not acceptable," he said. -he.

The Nassar affair in everyone's mind

“We have to do better to ensure that there is no room for abuse in our sport.

We are determined and committed to change within the UK Gymnastics Federation and it is not necessary to wait ”for the results of the internal investigation to do so, said Mike Darcey.

For several months now, retired and active gymnasts have been denouncing their training conditions around the world.

In the United States, the Nassar case, named after the former doctor of the national women's team sentenced to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting more than 250 gymnasts, including superstar Simone Biles, revealed the face in 2018. hidden discipline.

In Greece, former gymnasts denounced decades of abuse "akin to torture" by their coaches.

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  • Sport

  • Tokyo Olympics 2021

  • Britain

  • Bullying

  • Sexual harassment

  • Gymnastic