The German gymnastics association and especially the federal base in Stuttgart have come under massive criticism because of their treatment of female athletes. Former top gymnast Kim Bui speaks to SWR Sport about the serious allegations.
SWR Sports: More and more gymnasts are speaking out about the grievances in gymnasticsAssociations, now also explicitly for Stuttgart. How is that for you?
Kim Bui: To be honest, it doesn’t surprise me. It was only a matter of time before the topic came up.
SWR Sport: Tabea Alt wrote in a long Instagram post and said that there were incredible injustices – that she even had to do gymnastics with broken bones. You had a long time together. How was your experience?
Kim Bui: Of course I experienced all of these things too, but I think it’s something different when you’re in it yourself. All these accusations that Tabea (Old, editor’s note) are nothing new to me. It’s a huge deal for the public now.
SWR Sport: What should happen next?
Kim Bui: There has to be a fundamental change. If there are only maybe one or two personnel changes and everything else remains the same, then it is not a sustainable change.
SWR Sport: Is there a point of contact for athletes if they say: I don’t want to stop, but things can’t go on like this? Who do you turn to?
Kim Bui: I had nowhere to turn. I worked this out with myself. I was in coaching myself and reflected on this for myself (external mental coaching, editor’s note). Until my coach said to me at some point: ‘Kim, to be honest, these conditions are not normal’. Until then, I always looked for the error or problem on my own. That’s how I am by nature. Until someone from the outside told me that I was fine the way I was. That the system is the problem – and that the environment is totally toxic. I wasn’t even aware of that until then. And so I started looking around and we gymnasts were already talking. At some point you realize that other people feel the same way.
SWR Sport: How do you see the chance of taking legal action against this? Because it is so difficult to grasp.
Kim Bui: The topic is psychological abuse. Psychological violence is very subjective. And how can you measure that? You can measure a hand grip. You can prove drug abuse. Physical violence can be proven, it can be seen. But not psychological violence. And I think that’s very, very difficult. But what I have to say is that they are all similar stories. It’s not like we’re making up some lies or making up these stories. These are our own stories, our own experiences, which prove and show this. And I know that this is certainly not criminally relevant in any way. In a measurable form. But that’s what we experienced.
SWR Sport: Do you hope that even more female athletes will now speak out?
Kim Bui: Hope is always with me. But I have to say that I don’t want to force anyone to do this and I don’t want to force it at all. Everyone goes their own way in life, in their own time, at their own pace. Back then, when Pauline (Schäfer-Betz, editor’s note) When she made her story public, we talked to each other, and I was so incredibly grateful that she was so brave and took this step, because I wasn’t at that point. I hadn’t found the words for it yet, and I wasn’t as reflective as I was years later. And the fact that Pauline went ahead was really incredibly brave of her. I needed my time. After my career ended, I published my book, but I was relatively lonely and alone in public because the others weren’t ready yet.
Now, 20 months later, according to my book, the others have agreed. It’s a process. It takes time to process what you’ve been through and find the words to say it. I talked to my coach about it during coaching. It started around 2016 or 2017 when I spoke about this topic – abuses in gymnastics – at my place in Stuttgart. And now we are seven years later, something is happening, something is happening in the case in Stuttgart. And I think it all takes time. And that’s why I have some hope that even more gymnasts will open up.
SWR Sport: What would you like to see as a solution?
Kim Bui: My wish would be for a process to be imposed that also has a clear objective. Different goals could also be formulated. The physical and mental well-being of the gymnasts should always be the priority.
Broadcast on Monday, December 30, 2024, 7:30 p.m., SWR Aktuell Baden-Württemberg, SWR BW
