Gymnastics has often severed the saying “Sport is equal for all”. Many gymnasts still face various problems due to race, gender, and other reasons.

One of the most common obstacles athletes encounter is weight shaming. In a sport like gymnastics, many athletes experience fat shaming or weight shaming. One such instance in the UK has led a young gymnast to suffer from a lifelong health issue.

How gymnastics became the reason for Ellie Marinova’s health issue

Ellie Marinova is a young gymnast from England. She is suffering from a health issue related to a serious eating disorder. The young athlete ended up with such a severe ailment due to the toxic weight-shaming culture at her gym.

In an interview with ITV, Marinova revealed how the brutal treatment at the gym if an athlete was overweight affected her health. Remembering her days at the gym, Marinova said, “There was constant weighing. At the start of every session, we got put in a weight order line. If the number was too high for what they wanted you to be, then you were punished with conditioning, running, or skipping.”

This has not just affected the young athlete physically but has also caused mental health issues. In fact, Marinova never thought that she would ever recover from the traumatic experiences. “The past few years I was so miserable, and I never thought I was actually going to make it out alive,” said Marinova.

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After several complaints were raised by fellow gymnasts, Marinova’s former head coach Nikki Thorne is now under investigation by British Gymnastics.

How gymnast Simone Biles fought against abuse

Legendary American gymnast Simone Biles is one such athlete who has also suffered mental health issues due to the ignorant sport culture. In 2021, before the Tokyo Olympics, Biles released a docu-series named Simone v/s Herself.

In this series, Biles revealed that Larry Nassar, the former US Gymnastics team doctor, had sexually abused her and many of her teammates. The incident occurred at the Karolyi Ranch, where Biles used to train earlier.

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For years, Nassar’s abuse continued, and several young athletes became his victim. It is down to the bravery, and courage exhibited by Biles led to Nassar’s imprisonment on multiple charges of abuse.