Foreign athletes have recently been increasingly talking about sexual crimes committed against them in the distant past.
In July, Ireland women's head coach Vera Pauv revealed that she was raped 35 years ago by three men who held positions in the Royal Netherlands Football Union.
This week, the German channel ARD released a documentary that tells a much more shocking story.
Two-time Olympic medalist, one of the most talented divers of his time, Jan Hempel said that for 14 years he was abused by his coach Werner Langer.
According to the 51-year-old German, it all started in 1982, when he was only 11 years old.
Moreover, the mentor did not experience fear that he would be caught with a pupil.
Before the Olympics in Barcelona, he harassed the athlete even in the toilet.
The abuse continued until the 1996 Games in Atlanta, when Yang was able to fight back for the first time.
It is noted that Hempel was not the only victim of Langer.
Another German athlete who chose not to reveal his name in the film ARD admitted that the specialist molested him even when he was sleeping.
A year after the Olympics in Atlanta, Jan plucked up the courage and told the head coach of the German national team Ursula Klinger about everything.
Langer was suspended from work without voicing the reasons, so he then moved to the Austrian team without any problems.
And in 2001 he committed suicide, the reasons for which are still unknown.
“The German Swimming Federation made it clear to me that if I spread this information, then our sport will be under threat and then there will no longer be an opportunity to play it.
Of course, I was at a level where I already had certain goals in mind, and I wanted to achieve them, ”Hempel explained.
The film shocked the sports community in Germany.
Jan's synchronized diving partner Heiko Maier admitted that he knew about what was happening.
But I never heard the details from my comrade, and they shocked him.
And the representative of the human rights organization Athleten Deutschland, Maximilian Klein, suggested calling to account those who were aware of the crimes, but were afraid to talk about it aloud.
“People who continue to remain silent cover for institutions, and therefore for those responsible.
In part, they think that their actions will prevent further damage to those who have already suffered.
Sometimes there are dependency relationships or close networks of relationships that make people who are aware of the true state of affairs feel that they cannot afford to state it, ”Klein noted.
Athleten Deutschland also said that after such statements, the time has come for the creation of an independent center in the country, where victims of sexual violence in sports can apply.
“There is a need for some kind of separation of powers with independent structures.
Alone, on its own, sport cannot succeed in effectively combating violence and abuse.
The culture of silence needs to be replaced by a culture of observation, recognition and action.
It will take time for these principles to become mainstream and be followed in all gyms in the country.
This requires long and painful development processes in sports clubs and associations,” Klein concluded.
Under public pressure, the German Swimming Federation (DSV) took tough measures against the head coach of the national diving team, Lutz Bushkov, who led the team for 20 years.
According to Hempel, he was aware of Langer's abuses, but had no influence on the situation.
A well-known specialist was relieved of his duties “until the final clarification of the facts” right during the European Championship in Rome.
At the same time, DSV President Marco Troll noted that in this case, as in any other, there is a presumption of innocence.
And you can not condemn Bushkov until proven otherwise.
The coach was also supported by the famous German diver Patrick Hausding, who ended his sports career in May.
In his opinion, there were not enough grounds for the removal of the specialist.
“You can't blame him, it's not fair.
It was not in his power to make any decisions.
As a coach then he was just a small cog in the system.
These are terrible incidents.
Jan Hempel needs to be heard.
But I don’t understand why he released this information only after 25 years, ”explained Houseding.
I was surprised that Hempel spoke about the violence that lasted 14 years only now, and the Olympic champion in diving Elena Vaitsekhovskaya.
“Personally, in such cases, two questions always arise in me: for what purpose did a person who actually turned 51 admit this only now, when the coach has been dead for 21 years already?
And why does this not in the therapist's office (if the trauma is so deep), but in the media?
As Stanislavsky would say: “I don’t believe,” Vaitsekhovskaya wrote in the Telegram channel.
She is also embarrassed by another fact: the loud recognition is given in the context of the start of the organization's work to combat violence.
At the same time, the bronze medalist of the World Championship Vladimir Timoshinin, who spoke with Hempel at the competitions, admitted that he did not see anything strange in the behavior of the athlete.
“When I read stuff like this, I think the world has gone crazy.
The story with Hempel for me is from the same series.
It doesn't fit in my head that this could be true.
Jan was not very sociable, but I would not call him closed either.
Rather, he was constantly focused on training and performances.
We constantly met at competitions, I did not notice any internal problem in him.
I know that he has a wife and daughter, but I heard from colleagues, already when the story became public, that Hempel developed Alzheimer's disease and that he simply did not want to take his secret with him.
Does this correspond to reality?
I don’t know, ”Timoshinin told RT.