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The Villa Zurlinden owned by the Swiss Gymnastics Federation (STV) is beautiful. Anyone who enters the nineteenth-century building will not notice the stormy times currently prevailing at the STV. Eight former high-level gymnasts in rhythmic gymnastics and artistic gymnastics sports dared to go public and described how they were humiliated and slowly led to depression. Erwin Grossenbacher, Central President of STV, welcomes us for an interview.
We were very impressed with the descriptions of the athletes. They also?
Erwin Grossenbacher: Yes, I was very moved by reading it. But that’s nothing new. The allegations of the gymnasts had been known for some time, and discussions had already taken place. That is why we have launched an independent investigation that examines the whole context in rhythmic gymnastics. And the newly elected ethics committee starts immediately on January 1st and examines the accusations of the two gymnasts.
If you say that the statements made by the athletes are not new, it seems even more tragic.
Our big mistake was that we never really came to terms with the situation. In 2007 we had the case with national gymnastics coach Eric Demay. He was fired. In 2013 we did the same for rhythmic gymnastics coaches Heike Netzschitz and Vesela Dimitrova. We thought the layoffs would solve the problem. Too little thought for girls.
Eric Demay (left) was fired in 2007. Here along with Ariella Kaeslin, one of the athletes who expressed criticism.
© Petra Eggenberger / Keystone (Aarhus, 19 October 2006)
The athletes were not listened to or did not have the opportunity to express themselves adequately. How do you want to change it?
We will create new platforms, such as round tables, and invite existing and active athletes. They should be able to tell their personal experiences and also be able to express criticism openly.
We’re not just talking about problems with the coaches, but the whole system. Among other things, there is a lack of contact persons for psychological aspects.
I’m a bit bothered by the news about a system. It is certainly not our intention that athletes have been treated like this. I’m so sorry the girls had to suffer. We see that we need to do more here than in the past.
If athletes have been treated badly and later passed it on as coaches, it becomes a vicious circle. How are you going to break this?
The cultural change you speak of is important to us. Rhythmic gymnastics, in particular, is much more important in the eastern states than it is here. As the coaching market in Switzerland is not very good, coaches from abroad have been introduced. We now prefer to focus on trainers with a similar culture. The fact that the national team is assisted by interim Swiss women is a good sign. I believe the best sport is a tightrope walk. It takes diligence and hard work. What athletes take to get to that level is enormous.
One athlete said he only ate half a yogurt in the evening for fear of gaining weight. There was apparently no advice.
I can’t even imagine that maximum sports performance is possible even with half a yogurt.
Yet it happened.
Weight is not just a problem for us. It is similar in ski jumping, weight sports such as martial arts or rowing. But that can’t be an excuse. We need to offer more support.
There is hardly any sport that is such an intense workout this early. Is there even a way that is ethically justifiable?
I am convinced that this can be achieved. Internationally, we need to reduce our goals. If you want to become Olympic champion or world champion, you need to focus on the best when it comes to training methods. This is not what we want to aim for in rhythmic gymnastics with our ethical ideas. Then you may have to tell from the association that 15th place is fine and doesn’t have to be in the top 6.
It’s a promise to athletes and parents: is health more important than success?
Yes, health is more important than success. But I don’t want to anticipate any results of the investigation.
If athletes want to be successful, they have to go to Magglingen. Young talents are torn from their personal environment. Is there an afterthought to choose decentralized solutions?
This is certainly a discussion that needs to be made. I can imagine decentralized solutions. Not a big deal with the boys as they are 17 to 18 when they come to Magglingen. Girls are often only 14 or 15 years old. This comes with challenges.
Current national gymnastics coach Fabien Martin said he was short-tempered when he was under pressure to succeed. In your opinion, is he more a victim than an executioner?
We discussed an accident with Martin this summer and received contradictory statements. So we want this to be well researched. When the contract was extended until 2024, we stressed that great importance is attached to ethics. The contracts of the athletes will also be adjusted. It will certainly never be in contracts that you will have to pay attention to weight.
The current national gymnastics coach Fabien Martin.
© Keystone
Fabien Martin symbolizes a time when much suffering was caused. Can you resist it all?
We have had great experiences with Martin over the past 15 years. In Magglingen, many fail to understand the allegations. Thanks to the investigation, we would like to know what is right. Fabien Martin is definitely not a monster.
Without prejudice: couldn’t the association make a cut and replace the people who stand for that time?
We want to wait for the investigation before making a decision. We can’t fire all good people.
Competitive Sports Director Felix Stingelin had to leave. Why has it already been taken there?
The decision to end the collaboration was made amicably and before the latest allegations appeared.
Much of what you are saying now after this case seems plausible. In his seven years as president, however, he hasn’t changed these points. Because?
It probably took a wake-up call. The situation was not sufficiently questioned. But we realized we need to do more. It needs a work-up.
How bad does it hurt that you can initiate cultural change in artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics, but can no longer help shape it?
It hurts to realize that we haven’t correctly identified the problems in elite sport. Unfortunately, we haven’t worked hard enough on cultural change. I hope my successor Fabio Corti can be a reformer.
STV receives 1.7 million francs annually from Swiss Olympic. The ranking is based on success, which puts the associations under pressure. It’s correct?
In rhythmic gymnastics, we were therefore classified by Swiss Olympic. From my point of view, the distributor should be less success oriented. We would also like to apply this to Federal Councilor Viola Amherd.
Federal Councilor Amherd intervened and said that it was necessary to consider whether such incidents should be sanctioned.
Viola Amherd rightly cares about sports and that’s why we’ll see you for a chat. I think we are not the only sport facing problems like this.
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