The one thing that almost every gymnast has faced in their life is criticism about their physical appearance. This time, it was Olympic Medalist Manila Esposito. But a former gymnast did not let it slide and hit back at fans for going after Esposito.

“As a former gymnast — but above all as a person who shared the gym and training sessions with Manila Esposito — I couldn’t stay silent in the face of certain comments,” Giulia Bencini wrote on X.

In her video, she went on to say, “Under her videos, there are people who really think they can comment on her physicality… Unfortunately, when an athlete on the top of the world and shows she’s indisputable there is only one thing to criticize: the body”

Giulia Bencini is pushing back against the comparisons between Manila Esposito and gymnasts from previous generations. She says modern gymnastics demands bodies that need more strength and muscle because athletes now perform at a much higher level with a harder skill set.  

Her point comes after fans went after Esposito, pointing to her physique. Bencini says that having trained alongside Esposito, she understands the demands of the body and what it takes to be at the top in the world.  

And Esposito’s results back her words. In the 2024 Olympics in Los Angeles, Manila Esposito won silver in team Gymnastics and bronze on the balance beam. And she also has 2 golds at the FIG. Esposito has already won 2 European all-around titles, in 2024 and 2025.

The controversy actually started when Federginnastica posted a video showing Esposito training on the balance beam.  

Some users commented under the post saying that she was “too big” and “a bit heavy”. There was one comment brutally shaming her, saying that she would improve if she lost 10 kilograms.  

Those comments took the attention away from the training and toward how Esposito looked. Esposito did not directly answer those criticizing her physique. Instead, she reposted videos addressing the incident and added heart emojis to those posts.  

But this has been a case that has been haunting gymnastics for a long time. Former gymnast Eleonora Rando talked about this in public in 2020, talking about the abuse within the sport.  

Carlotta Ferlito also talked about the physical and psychological violence she had to endure over her career. She also discussed how those experiences affected her relationship with food during her gymnastics days. 

Those experiences helped strengthen conversations around safeguarding, nutrition, and athlete welfare across Italian gymnastics. The federation later worked with Auxologico to address eating and nutrition disorders.  

Yet Esposito’s experience shows that changing policies has not changed the fans’ expectations. Female athletes in other sports have also faced similar treatment. Elisa Molinarolo and Gaia Sabbatini have both faced comments focused more heavily on appearance. 

That pattern matters because sports continue changing, and athletes evolve alongside those changes. The gymnastics game now demands not only flexibility but also strength and muscle to do moves that are tougher than what previous generations have faced. And that means that we will be seeing gymnasts looking different than before.