I cannot find the words to express my thoughts and feelings about the Nassar tragedy. We are an international community of people motivated by a love for gymnastics. In the main, young people are the only ones with the energy, skill and daring to be able to compete. These young people are completely reliant on elders to train safely, to progress healthily and to be happy. The betrayal when this all goes wrong is total and inexcusable. To think that there is even one person exists who sees this reliance as an opportunity to hurt and repress individuals for the sake of their own pleasure - it is evil. J K Rowling's Death Eaters, the Dementors of Harry Potter, have nothing on Nassar and his depraved, selfish pursuit of power. The horror is complete. I have awoken to the scale of this horror terribly slowly, as if incapable of distinguishing life from nightmare. I am removed from the everyday reality of these awful experiences, yet...
Reporting and analysing Russian gymnastics since 2010. Includes original and exclusive interviews with leading coaches and gymnasts, and historical issues dating back to the Soviet Union. The first blog to report extensively on the sport using Russian language sources.