Incidents of abuse are said to have occurred at the Stuttgart federal base, and numerous gymnasts have made serious allegations. The Swabian Gymnastics Association has now commented.
It was a real “earthquake” that struck the Kunst-Turn-Forum in Stuttgart at the weekend. Several current and former selection gymnasts, including Tabea Alt, Kim Bui and Michelle Timm, publicly denounced grievances at the federal base. Complaints were made for “systematic physical and mental abuse” and “catastrophic circumstances”.
The German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) and the Swabian Gymnastics Federation (STB) had already issued statements on the gymnasts’ allegations. In a joint statement on Tuesday (December 31, 2024), the DTB and STB said they were “affected by the numerous statements made by gymnasts”. At the same time, the associations emphasized that “all complaints and tips were taken seriously and investigated and this will continue to happen in the future.”
Training in Stuttgart starts on January 2nd
SWR Sport asked the STB what impact the allegations have on ongoing training operations at the federal base in Stuttgart. According to the association, training “starts for all gymnasts on January 2nd”. Current operations do not appear to be affected, at least currently.
National coach Gerben Wiersma will be Training missions take over
But there will be concrete changes in the new year, as the STB announced. “In order to ensure training operations, both national coach Gerben Wiersma and junior national coach Claudia Schunk will take over training operations in Stuttgart from January 7th,” said the association.
The STB was unable to answer whether there would be concrete personnel consequences at the Stuttgart location in the near future. Instead, the association referred to the “personal rights” of those affected. It also remained unclear how far the gymnasts’ allegations had been dealt with. Here the STB referred to its statement from Tuesday.
Broadcast on Wed, January 1, 2025, 6:40 p.m., SWR1 Baden-Württemberg
