Anna Kostenko, a Ukrainian-Canadian professional gymnast, 17, says she was physically abused by her coach multiple times.
Max Krainii, S@Y News Toronto
Gymnastics is not only about looking beautiful and being able to do hard and shocking tricks with your body. It is also about a great number of hours spent in the gym... And sometimes those hours can become hell for an athlete. Anna Kostenko, a Ukrainian-Canadian professional gymnast, says she was physically abused by her coach multiple times during training sessions.
“She [the coach] could pull my hair and hit me with a stick,” explains Anna. If students did something wrong, the coach would rather physically abuse them than talking to them and explaining what they should do first. Because of that, Anna says she was scared to come to the gym sometimes. And such treatment by her coach impacted both her physical and mental health.
First of all, because of long and harsh training sessions and complex exercises with different equipment, Anna got hernias in her back. She understands that if you want to achieve a lot in this sport, you have to push yourself and challenge your limits. But she also points out that coaches should care more about athletes’ well-being.
"They build machines..."
“The teacher would not even allow us to drink water during practice as she wanted us to stay slim,” tells us Anna, when we asked her to describe her training environment. However, she says, water is a crucial part of the healthy training process as the body needs H2O to transport nutrients, give you energy and allow muscle tissues to work properly. Besides that, the girl could even leave the gym with bruises on her face and around the body. Those would be an indicator the coach did not like her technique in some of the elements.
Jessica Howard, a gymnast and a 3-time National Champion form Florida, describes the training environment on the CBS This Morning Show saying "They build machines, they allow emotional and physical abuse that makes … female athletes perfect victims for sexual predators." Follow the Twitter link below to see her speech.
According to the 2017 UofT and AthletesCAN study, “19 percent of retired athletes reportedly experienced at least one form of physically harmful behaviour.” Thus, Anna wants to speak out now as there are many other athletes who experience some forms of harassment by their coaches.
Recovering after an injury might get even more challenging
But there is more to the story... Some athletes also struggle with their rehab sessions. Gym injuries are just one part of the story. Recovering after them — is another. Anna shares her disappointment and frustration with the way she used to be treated at the rehab centre. She says, “The doctor could watch me changing... and even touch my breast, saying ‘Don’t worry, Anna. This is needed for your treatment.’”
From being physically and mentally harassed at the gym to being humiliated by an old male doctor, Anna suggests her gymnast career hasn’t been an easy journey. Despite all of that, she has the courage to share her story to prevent something like that from happening to other young athletes. Anna wants to empower gymnasts and other athletes to speak out if they feel they’re not being treated fairly and with respect when they feel ready to do so.
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