Rhythmic gymnastics is one of the smaller branches of Swedish gymnastics and in Sweden there are just over 330 active competitors.

The competition is fierce and only some reach the national team.

One of them was Clara Göthberg from Gothenburg.    

In the autumn, she told on social media about her experiences from rhythmic gymnastics.

About humiliation and verbal abuse from coaches and leaders, coaches who pressured the young gymnasts so hard that they cried during training, about children who received comments that they were fat and about adults who sat on young teenagers who stood in a split between two chairs.   

- We were not allowed to eat si and we were not allowed to eat like that, we got insults, were humiliated, it was physical pain.

They said, "the worse it gets, the better."

It was awful, Clara Göthberg tells SVT Sport.

The problem is bigger than individual leaders 

She finished rhythmic gymnastics in 2019, 16 years old, after ten years in the sport.

But the problems are bigger than an individual case, shows SVT Sports' review.  

In addition to Clara Göthberg, we have talked to eight other former elite gymnasts in rhythmic gymnastics, from various associations in the country.

These are gymnasts who have been active at the elite level for a period that stretches back ten years in time until the near future, most of whom have competed for the Swedish national team.   

All testify that leaders have exposed them to various forms of emotional abuse.

It is about the fact that from an early age they have been insulted, violated in various ways, they have been afraid of punishment and exposed to weight.

A majority of the gymnasts we spoke to testify that today they have an eating disorder problem. 

Excerpt from the testimonies: "You are a fat cow"

Here are some excerpts from the testimonies:  

"It was very hard training.

These were daily violations.

You were scolded every day.

Not a day went by when you did not cry, or that one of your club mates cried ”.

She has said things like: you look like you weigh as much as a building.

You're a fat cow.

You are worthless".

"No, no physical violence, no more than they have thrown slippers at someone.

Then they were forcibly stretched.

That's when you sit in a split on a chair and someone sits on one ".

The former elite gymnasts we spoke to point out seven different leaders in rhythmic gymnastics, four of whom are still active.    

- We did not talk about that this may not be okay.

Or this does not seem to go right.

We were so used to it, there was a gradual escalation of abuse.

So we did not react, says Clara Göthberg.

Secretary-General: "I am naturally appalled"

The Swedish Gymnastics Association is responsible for rhythmic gymnastics and its member associations in Sweden.

When SVT Sport lets Secretary General Pelle Malmborg take part in the testimony of the elite gymnasts, he reacts strongly:    

- Of course I am appalled.

This is not something we want to see in either gymnastics or sports in general.

Sports should be a place for security and joy.

What is described here is something that is on the verge of perhaps being reported to the police, that it is not the sport itself that should handle this type of abuse or violations, he says.   

One of the seven designated coaches is called Katja Samsonova and is Sweden's national team captain in rhythmic gymnastics.

This is nothing new for Pelle Malmborg, because since Clara Göthberg's first alarm last autumn, the Swedish Gymnastics Association has now appointed an investigation. 

The league captain paused from the national team 

Recently, Katja Samsonova took a break from her assignment as the national team captain and as coach of the association in Gothenburg where she is active.  

“The decision has been made in consultation with and at my request.

In other respects, regarding the interview, I refer to the ongoing matter at the gymnastics association ", the association captain writes in an email to SVT Sport. 

He does not want to say whether the gymnastics association's Pelle Malmborg has continued confidence in the national team captain.   

- Trust is a fresh product and that is why we choose to pause her.

We must bottom out and have peace of mind to move forward.

In that work, we have also chosen to take the help of external expertise to find the right answer in this complex issue.  

Has the gymnastics association not known that it was like this in rhythmic gymnastics before Clara told about it on social media? 

- The Swedish Gymnastics Association acts on the matters that we become aware of or that are raised to us regardless of area of ​​activity or discipline.

Among these, over the years we have handled problems and issues related to rhythmic gymnastics.

So yes, we have known and acted on what has come to us. 

How can there be so many coaches who have these methods?  

- I have no patented answer to that.

But of course, coaching is part of a culture and you inherit a way of doing things.

And there it can be a challenge to break those patterns, says Pelle Malmborg.

This is the first part of a larger review.