Latest news with #GermanGymnasticsFederation
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
German gymnastics body vice president steps down amid abuse scandal
German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) vice president Ulla Koch is stepping down amid the investigation into an abuse affair in the sport, the federation said in a statement on Thursday. The 69-year-old had already temporarily stepped away in January in the wake of a series of allegations of abuse in German gymnastics "so as not to jeopardize the investigation and processing of the incidents," she was quoted in the statement. "After careful consideration and to prevent the areas for which I was responsible as vice president from having to continue to be shaped by proxy as a result of this leave, I would like to step down from my position," she said. Koch was DTB vice president since November 2021. Before that, she was women's gymnastics team coach from March 2005 to September 2021. Allegations of abuse in the sport have emerged since late December 2024, led by former elite gymnasts Tabea Alt and Michelle Timm, who have spoken about issues at the Stuttgart training centre, including "systematic physical and mental abuse." There have also been allegations of harsh and authoritarian training methods at the training centre in Mannheim. Coaches have been suspended and police is also investigating.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former gymnasts criticize DTB over reappraisal of abuse allegations
Former German top gymnasts have criticized the governing body DTB over its way of dealing with abuse allegations at training centres and called for a fully independent investigation in an open letter. The DTB has asked a Frankfurt law firm three weeks ago to help clear up the accusations centring on the Stuttgart and Mannheim training centres. But the letter signed by 28 people, including parents, coaches and athletes such as Olympic bronze medallist Sophie Scheder, said that a similar move after accusations against the Chemnitz training centre showed that final results could be influenced by DTB interests. They want the deal with the law firm to be terminated, and that the DTB has started asking people to submit their contact data to the company. "We are very concerned that the German Gymnastics Federation wants to create facts and pre-empt a possible independent investigation," the letter said. In the letter also addressed to the ministry overseeing sports in the state of Baden-Württemberg and its regional sports umbrella organizations, they call for a fully independent probe. It called on the ministry to ensure "that no investigation commissioned by the German Gymnastics Federation is carried out to clarify past facts under the financial shadow of the German Gymnastics Federation." The DTB told dpa it would comment on the open letter on Friday. Allegations emerged in December, with former elite gymnasts Tabea Alt and Michelle Timm speaking out about the Stuttgart training centre, detailing what they saw as "systematic physical and mental abuse" and "catastrophic conditions." Others have followed and the affair has spread to the Mannheim training centre through accusations of authoritarian training methods. Two Stuttgart coaches have been suspended, and a former Stuttgart coach is under investigation on suspicion of coercion in several cases, with police conducting searches on Thursday.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
New abuse allegations in German gymnastics
New abuse allegations in German gymnastics have surfaced when former athletes spoke of authoritarian training methods at the Mannheim training centre. Former national youth champion Zoe Meissner and Naomi Schachner went public with the allegations in a report by broadcasters SWR. Meissner said she had to continue training despite injury, naming it "simply horrendous" that "I still had to continue doing gymnastics with swollen, thick feet, even though I could no longer walk." Schachner also reported negative experiences, saying: "When it came to learning something new that I was perhaps afraid of, I was forced to stay on the apparatus until I could manage the element. I sometimes trained my hands to the bone." The Mannheim training centre has been approached for comment by dpa, but was yet to make a statement. The German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) said it has received several allegations over the past weeks which also concern the Mannheim centre. The DTB is investigating after other ex-athletes since late December criticised catastrophic conditions at the Stuttgart training centre with systematic physical and mental abuse. "The DTB will incorporate all of these reports - regardless of the time period they relate to and whether they concern individual persons or structural issues - into the various processes that have already been initiated," it said. It said this also applies to reports that do not relate to current incidents but to periods in the past. But the DTB said that changes that have since been made at training centres and concerning the overall structures.
