ITV news sports editor Steve Scott reports a culture of weight bullying has led to young female athletes developing lifelong health problems Ellie Marinova says she clearly remembers the moment her eating disorder took hold. After she was weighed at the start of a workout, one of her trainers screamed, “You have to lose nine pounds in the next four days or I don’t want to train you.” Ellie tells ITV News: “That’s when it really started to go downhill.” “Downhill” is an understatement. Since then, Ellie has spent years in hospital, where she regularly self-harmed and attempted suicide several times. If it weren’t for gymnastics, she claims, it’s unlikely she would ever have gone to that hopelessly dark place. “The last few years I’ve been so miserable and I never thought I’d make it out alive.” There was a culture at her gym, Ellie says, where she and her teammates were defined by “the number on the scale.” Fainting or vomiting during training was not uncommon. “There was constant weighing. At the beginning of each session, we entered a row in order of weight. If the number was too high for what they wanted you to be, then you were penalized by preparing, running, or skipping. “You weren’t allowed to train with your partner, even if the competition was close. You felt like you were letting your partner down.” Because of this constant pressure, Ellie says, her weight began to dominate her life. “It involved me not eating, over exercising outside of sessions. I would never really hang out with anyone at school, I would hide in the bathrooms to run around and flush my food down the toilet,” she said. Ellie believes her lifestyle ultimately led to her years in hospital. an experience she says has shaped her forever. “The way they treated me, the trauma, absolutely everything was even worse. And that makes it even harder to deal with, that this all came from something that I started when I was three years old – I loved it, I wanted to do it all the time – to something that completely changed my life,” he said. Ellie’s former coach Nikki Thorne is currently being investigated by British Gymnastics over multiple allegations but has not been suspended by the governing body. Ellie told ITV News that her experience left her traumatised. ITV News has seen statements from several gymnasts who have been trained by Ms Thorne One said: “I was so scared to come to training in case I weighed more than I did the day before. I would feel sick and anxious, terrified that I would be called.” Another wrote that after being weighed they “asked me about what I had eaten that day and told me I shouldn’t have eaten it”. A third recalled: “If they thought we were too heavy, they would make us run for maybe up to two hours up and down the back of the gym.” And finally, one told us: “On my period, Nick told me I’d be bloated so I should eat less to balance it out.” Ellie struggled with an eating disorder after her experience as a gymnast. All of the former gymnasts claim to have needed some form of medical attention since leaving the sport. The conditions they say they have treated range from anorexia and depression to self-harm and obsessive-compulsive disorder. All the gymnasts claim that they are weighed on a regular basis and sent to punishments. Freya Cooper is convinced her experience in gymnastics has led to problems she still struggles with. Freya used to self-harm, needed weekly counseling and now, a few years later, still suffers from anxiety, low self-esteem and – having been criticized so much in the past – says she’s always self-conscious. how it looks Freya speaks to ITV News. “If we put on a kilo, they would tell us to run to the gym for the three hours we were there. It was done in a way that all the other gymnasts knew why you were running and they would call you out while you were doing it,” she said. “We would go to extreme lengths to make sure that doesn’t happen. So we weren’t allowed to drink water during the session, it just created a whole world of problems. “It’s really hard to exercise when you have no energy or haven’t eaten, and it would be pretty common to pass out or throw up. And that would be standard, just expected.” The impact of the club’s culture, Freya claims, was devastating. “It affected every part of my life. I couldn’t do what everyone else was doing and I just went into a downward spiral with my attitude towards myself and food,” she said. “I would go from 8 A.M. at ‘weigh-in time’ without drinking water just because it would make my life easier in the long run because I wouldn’t have to deal with the effects of training later in the day if I just stopped eating or drinking water.” “Honestly it was like a form of torture. You feel so trapped because you’re being chased and screamed at and exercised to the point where you pass out and can’t get away. you couldn’t tell anyone.” Nikki Thorne has denied all the allegations, which she describes as baseless. In a statement to ITV News, she said: “I am a successful coach in the sport of acrobatics and I am respected all over the world. I am a British Gymnastics Pathway coach and head coach of my club. Want a quick and special update on the biggest news? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out what you need to know “As an experienced coach, the safety, welfare and well-being of gymnasts is at the heart of my coaching ethos. To suggest that I would abuse any gymnast is deeply upsetting, hurtful and the opposite of everything I have strived to be. a coach . “The accounts presented are either completely exaggerated or completely untrue and I am currently seeking legal advice. I absolutely deny these allegations of misconduct which are shocking and baseless. “Some of these unfounded allegations are the subject of an ongoing investigation by the governing body, British Gymnastics. I am co-operating fully with the British Gymnastics investigation and have provided extensive evidence to refute the allegations of misconduct. “Due to the ongoing investigation, it is not appropriate to comment at this stage.” In a statement British Gymnastics told ITV News: “We cannot comment on any case which is currently under investigation. Cases are handled through an Independent Complaints Procedure, and as part of this process it is made absolutely clear that if a coach subject to a complaint is found to be a danger to others then they will not be allowed to continue coaching pending investigation and will be immediately removed from this environment. “Through the Reform 25 action plan, we are committed to creating safe, positive and fair experiences for everyone in gymnastics, with nothing more important than the safety and well-being of gymnasts and everyone involved in the sport. “This means that the culture of weight shaming has absolutely no place in gymnastics. The new and updated guidance already in place on weighing is there to protect the physical and mental health of gymnasts as part of wider sports science guidelines. It was developed in cooperation with both gymnasts and coaches”. Who to contact for support if you are affected by any of the issues raised in this blog:
Beat provides a free helpline to support people with eating disorders. Call 0808 801 0677 or email [email protected] Samaritans offers help to anyone, including those dealing with illness, suicidal thoughts and anxiety. Call 116 123 or email [email protected] Anorexia & Bulimia Care offers support and advice for anyone with an eating disorder on their website or on their helpline on 03000 111213. SANEline provides help to those struggling with their mental health. Call SANEline on 0300 304 7000 for support.
