The head of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said on Monday the alleged abuse of young Chinese gymnasts preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympics was a ”very delicate issue”.
In a report for BBC Radio aired last week, British Olympic rowing great Matthew Pinsent described children in a Beijing gymnasium being pushed through the pain barrier and said one young boy had clearly been beaten by his coach.
”It was a pretty disturbing experience. I know it is gymnastics and that sport has to start its athletes young but I have to say I was really shocked by some of what was going on,” said Pinsent.
FIG president Bruno Grandi said he was aware of the comments but did not condemn the alleged abuse.
”It is one very delicate issue. We have many delicate situations in gymnastics. It is a problem that is not possible for me to give an answer to,” he said on the eve of the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Melbourne.
”It is not possible to know the exact situation. It is impossible for me to accuse.”
Grandi, however, said the accusations were one reason why he was pushing hard to raise the minimum age limit for gymnasts above the current 16.
”We need complete athletes, both physically and psychologically,” he said without elaborating on how raising the minimum age requirements would address the concerns raised by Pinsent.
In his report, Pinsent, a four-times Olympic gold medallist at rowing and a former member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said he felt the children he had seen were being pushed beyond acceptable limits.
”I do think those kids are being abused. The relationship between coach and child and parent and child is very different here.
”But I think it goes beyond the pale. It goes beyond what is normal behaviour. It was really chilling,” said Pinsent, who travelled to the Chinese capital in his capacity as a rookie broadcaster.
”When I talked to the vice principals they said hitting was against the law, but then there were parents who want you to do it. They said this is what they needed to do to make them hard.”
Pinsent said he still believed that the Olympics would have a positive effect on Chinese society, but he admitted his experience in Beijing had led him to question that view.
The IOC has declined to comment on his report but has stressed that physical abuse in sport is against all Olympic values.
Pinsent’s comments come at a sensitive time for FIG which is desperately trying to restore the sport’s battered reputation and win back fans following a series of judging scandals at the Olympic Games in Athens last year.
The inconsistency and at times apparent bias of the judges was heavily criticised by competitors and spectators alike. – AFP
