A Nottingham gymnast has revealed how coaching staff went through her bags to search for food when she was just 10, and how she was ‘sat on’ during stretching exercises. Ellie Downie who is retiring from the sport only aged 23 said she wasn't sure if any daughter of hers should go into the sport.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain, former European champion Ellie highlighted ‘abuse’ of athletes - including their own possessions being searched for extra food and admitting she worried for her sister Rebecca who still competes. She said that coaches ‘sat on’ gymnasts as part of the stretching process and that they were ‘weighed in’.
Ellie said: “We were definitely sat on by coaches for stretching reasons. I’ve definitely had my bag searched for food. It all happens when you’re so young. The first time it happened to me I was on a training camp and I was like ten [years old].
Read more: Emotional Susanna Reid walks out of GMB studio to comfort mum of missing Levi Davis
“They just search your bags for food to make sure you’ve not brought any other food with you. But you normally do that because you can’t eat when you’re on a training camp.
“Everyone just kind of gets brainwashed. We actually got told by coaches that you couldn’t take food abroad and me and my sister genuinely thought that for years.”
Speaking about concerns she has for her sister Rebecca who still competes in the sport, she said: “I worry that she potentially won’t get picked because of the stuff that we’ve said and it’s already happened to her once. I do worry about her. There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes that people don’t know and people just see the end result of you being on the podium.”
On why she decided to speak about her experiences now, Ellie said: “I made the first move in 2020 when everyone was talking about the Gymnast Alliance. But now for me to speak out, it’s since my brother passed away. I’ve just kept so quiet because I knew I couldn’t really create noise if I wanted to be in the [gymnastics] programme.”
Ellie previously said she had constantly been made to feel “ashamed” about her weight. “From 14 years old I’ve been told to diet consistently,” she said. “At one time at this age, again after being told I was too heavy, I was told by a nutritionist to provide food diaries of everything that entered my mouth and send daily pictures of me in my underwear to ensure I wasn’t lying."
Her sister Becky Downie, who has won 14 major medals for Team GB and England during a glittering career, has previously said how she had been “trained to the point of physical breakdown” on many occasions, before admitting: “Only in recent years I’ve understood properly the mental impact that’s had upon me.”
The Whyte Review, which examined over 400 complaints, uncovered an “unacceptable culture” that has left countless young people humiliated, shamed and permanently psychologically or physically damaged by their time in the sport.
The obsession within the sport over an athlete’s weight and appearance was also highlighted as a central problem. “Weight-taking was, at times, accompanied by an uneducated attitude to diet and a humiliating choice of language,” the review stated.
Good Morning Britain weekdays from 6am on ITV1 & ITVX
Read next:
- Holly Willoughby apologises to guest for losing composure as Phil gives her a telling off
- Martin Lewis warns of worst three hours to use your washing machine
- Russell the Crow on This Morning but viewers more concerned about length of owner's dress
- James Corden has an unusual middle name - but so do these 23 celebrities
- Maya Jama 'quits' huge BBC show in wake of Love Island success
