Italian at the end of 2019 Anna Basta could not recognize his own reflection on the wall of the bathroom in the dance hall.
The panic attack had just ended, and 18-year-old Basta had gotten up from the bathroom floor of the Gymnastics Academy in Northern Italy.
Basta had sat alone in the dark, shaking and crying, because she wanted to hide her bad feeling from the other members of the national rhythmic gymnastics team. The coach was the only one who noticed.
– I was having another panic attack during training, and he told me to go to the bathroom. When the scene passed, I stared at myself in the mirror and realized that the situation had gone too far, Basta now says in an interview with .
The three and a half years spent in the rhythmic gymnastics national team had driven the young woman into depression and self-loathing. Coaches’ barking, public humiliation and unreasonable demands were commonplace in those years, says Basta.
– In the last year, panic attacks became everyday. I was depressed, scared and constantly nervous. My life felt meaningless and I even thought about suicide.
The sport culture of rhythmic gymnastics has also become a topic of conversation in Finland after Urheilu published an article about the shortcomings of the sport’s national team coaching. After this, the former national team gymnasts published an open letter, in which they demanded that sports decision-makers take responsibility for changing the culture of the sport.
A similar discussion has taken place in Italy since the end of the year.
Basta started a chain of revelations
At the end of October, Basta and his friend, another former national team gymnast Nina Corradini told For La Repubblica daily (you will switch to another service) for improper treatment at the Italian rhythmic gymnastics academy, Accademia Internazionale di Ginnastica Ritmica.
The academy is located in northern Italy, in the city of Desio. The country’s rhythmic gymnastics national team trains and lives there for a large part of the year. The team has won several prestigious competition medals in recent years.
Ex-gymnasts report on the mental violence they experienced at the hands of some coaches during their national team career, which manifested itself in many ways.
After the confessions of Basta and Corradini, too many others (you switch to another service) a former rhythmic gymnast from the national team and the country’s club teams has talked about his experiences publicly.
Gymnasts report that they have experienced great pressure regarding their appearance, weight and eating. For example, Corradini said in an interview with the magazine that he regularly used laxatives that he secretly bought at the pharmacy in order to lose weight and avoid the coaches’ barks.
Basta says that the gymnasts of the national team were weighed at the Gymnastics Academy every day. Their eating was closely monitored in the restaurant of the hotel connected to the Academy.
According to Basta, his appearance and weight were also humiliatingly commented on in front of other team members.
– I was scolded for being fat and sometimes it was suggested that maybe it would be better not to eat at all. Once, when I tried to eat two cookies with a cappuccino for breakfast, the coach took them from my hand and asked what I really imagined I was doing, Basta remembers.
This made Basta eat less and less over time. A few slices of air-dried bresaola ham could be enough for lunch. At the same time, he pumped himself full of nutritional supplements.
– When I stopped gymnastics, my digestion no longer worked normally. Somehow I managed to avoid a worse eating disorder, he says.
Gymnastics academy under special supervision, preliminary investigation underway
The Italian Gymnastics Federation, the country’s Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Sports have taken a stand on the gymnasts’ statements.
– Medals are national pride, but they cannot be used to justify improper behavior, said the Italian sports minister Andrea Abodi.
President of the Italian Olympic Committee Giovanni Malagò on the other hand swore that the accusations will be investigated and if mistakes have been made, those concerned will have to pay for them. However, Malagò emphasized that rhythmic gymnastics involves a certain amount of rigor and discipline.
The Italian Gymnastics Federation Federazione Ginnastica is ordered (you switch to another service) For the special supervision of the Academy of Rhythmic Gymnastics. It means that the authority visits the Academy premises once a week to check the health of the gymnasts.
Prosecutor started in November (switching to another service) preliminary investigation on the matter. In addition to the gymnasts, the national team’s staff and coaches, including the head coach, have been heard in the investigation Emanuela Maccarania. However, the coaches have been allowed to keep their jobs.
Many in the field have come forward to support gymnasts who have come into the public eye. For example, the owner and teacher of a dance and gymnastics school in Bologna Chiara Predola says that rhythmic gymnastics is known for its divisive discipline.
Predola has followed the uproar in Italian gymnastics, and does not accept the inappropriate behavior that the coaches are accused of. He is convinced that you don’t need one for good performance, although there are still those in the industry who believe in exaggerated discipline.
– Our task is to support the gymnasts to better performances, but also to respect their limits and protect them, says Predola.
– Such coaching leads to longer-term success. When the athlete feels good, the results are better.
“I talk so long that the industry changes”
Anna Basta stopped gymnastics in the national team in the spring of 2020. It was preceded not only by panic attacks and suicidal thoughts, but also by a serious knee injury.
The Academy didn’t react well to the injury either: some of the coaches tried to get Basta to practice, even though the knee was so swollen that he couldn’t walk.
When he returned to his parents in Bologna, Basta was in poor health. Since then, he has gone through his experiences in therapy. Now he says that he is already feeling better – but it required him to leave the sport for more than a year.
– I really love performing and gymnastics, but my experiences at Desio made me hate the sport. My childhood dream turned into a nightmare, he says.
At the end of November, Basta filed an official criminal complaint with the police about the emotional abuse he experienced. For investigation a separate work group was established after that (you move to another service)which also includes the legal protection board operating under the Olympic Committee.
In recent weeks, the parents of some gymnasts have shared how they are doing tried to report (you will switch to another service) about the coaches’ behavior in the past, but it has not led to any measures. Italian magazines has also leaked (you switch to another service) recorded telephone conversations, according to which the Gymnastics Federation was aware of the situation, but failed to react to it.
Basta still wants to believe that the sport can change. He hopes that those on the national team will have a healthier environment to exercise in the future.
– It requires that the culture of silence be broken and people speak the truth. I myself intend to continue speaking until the abuse stops.
Basta himself has started studying sports management and coaching young gymnasts. According to him, in order to break away from unhealthy practices in the industry, more training for coaches and support for gymnasts is needed – both in terms of nutrition and mental well-being.
– It is clear that if you want to succeed in gymnastics, you have to be ready to do a lot of work and also make sacrifices. Care must be taken of the body. But everything has its limits, he says.