British Gymnastics chief 'appalled and ashamed' by abusive coaching allegations

Jane Allen, the chief executive of British Gymnastics, has said she is “appalled and ashamed” at allegations of widespread abusive coaching in her sport.

The national governing body this week bowed to pressure to launch an independent QC-led review after claims of emotional and physical abuse by coaches, from children as young as seven all the way up to elite-level gymnasts aiming for Olympic places.

Things escalated further on Thursday, when current world-class programme gymnasts, sisters Becky and Ellie Downie, released a joint-statement detailing their own experience of “an environment of fear and mental abuse”.

There have been growing calls for Allen, CEO for the past decade, to step down in recent days – including from former Olympian, Lisa Mason.

Allen on Friday wrote to British Gymnastics members, recognising the “bravery” of those who had spoken out and promising change.

“Any mistreatment of gymnasts is inexcusable,” Allen wrote. “It is vital that concerns are made public, whether that is through the media or our processes. I pay tribute to those who have spoken out – their bravery will help drive change within gymnastics.

“Personally, I am appalled and ashamed by the stories I have heard. We have worked hard to put in place a mandatory positive coaching behaviours programme and an integrity unit to investigate allegations of emotional abuse and bullying. While those have been audited and accredited by leading experts in the field, most recently in May of this year, we clearly need to do more. And quickly.”

Allen added: “The right thing is to ensure that an independent eye looks at the complaints raised this week and the systems we have in place.

“To be clear, the review’s conclusions and recommendations will be the QC’s alone. You have my commitment that British Gymnastics will do everything needed to ­support the review but will not seek to influence it in any way.

“This is extremely important and will help us better understand barriers to reporting misconduct in our sport and where we need to provide greater guidance to our members and the wider gymnastics community on what is acceptable and what is not.

“The experiences of gymnasts highlighted this week have ­described fundamental issues within the gymnast-coach relationship. I expect the Review and ­recommendations that come from it to address this and help provide clarity that helps protect gymnasts at every level.

“We are determined to get to the bottom of these issues and change gymnastics for the better.”