Helen Kevric breaks her silence with an open look and without beating around the bush. Just before the home European Championships in Leipzig, the rising star speaks out for the first time about the gymnastics scandal in Stuttgart, which has thrown her young career into turmoil.
She is very sad that she is no longer allowed to work with her old coaches, she said in an interview with the German Press Agency. "I'm not a victim of abuse or anything else," says the 17-year-old after the podium training session. She is very sad that it has come to this now.
Since the end of last year, allegations of abuse have plagued German women's gymnastics, first at the Stuttgart Artistic Gymnastics Forum and later also at the Mannheim base. Several former and active female athletes denounced "systematic physical and mental abuse" and catastrophic circumstances, among other things. Two trainers were dismissed. The Baden-Württemberg State Office of Criminal Investigation and the Stuttgart public prosecutor's office are investigating. There are several cases of suspected coercion.
The Swabian Gymnastics Federation (STB) and the German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) are still working on the investigation - a law firm from Frankfurt am Main was brought in for this purpose in mid-January. At the State Sports Association (LSV), an independent panel of experts is looking into the allegations. The first results should be available in July.
New coaches for Kevric
Helen Kevric has involuntarily become the center of attention. It is her former coaches in Stuttgart against whom the accusations are directed. "I always had a good relationship with my coaches," she said in Leipzig, taking up the cudgels for the coaches who guided her to eighth place in the all-around and sixth place on the uneven bars at last year's Olympic Games in Paris.
At the beginning of March, the DTB presented Aimee Boorman from the USA as a prominent interim solution. The former coach of super star Simone Biles was hired for five months as an honorary coach for Kevric, among others. However, as the 52-year-old is currently in her home country due to other commitments, the German all-around champion has been assisted by Boorman's compatriot LaPrise Harris-Williams for the past two weeks and also at the European Championships.
"It's going very well so far," said Kevric about working with her current replacement coach. It was the same with Boorman. Nevertheless, the change has not been easy for her. The biggest challenge for her on the way to the European Championships was "building a new bond with the coach". The training methods were slightly different, but she still tried to train in the same way as before. "In general, this whole situation was very stressful and it wasn't easy because it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. I would have liked to keep my coaches," admitted the 17-year-old candidly.
Federal coach as crisis manager
The extraordinary circumstances have meant that Gerben Wiersma has not only been called upon to act as national women's coach for the past five months, but also as crisis manager. "Finding a new coach is something we've been really busy with over the past few months," said the Dutchman. He wavered between hoping and fearing whether Kevric would be able to start in Leipzig.
When his lead gymnast returned with a brilliant all-around performance at the second European Championships on May 13 in Berlin, he was relieved. For Kevric himself, the strong performance was no surprise, "because I continued my training anyway. Of course it was different for me because it was my first competition without my old coaches. It wasn't easy for me, and it still isn't."
She performed a four-event competition "at a really high level", according to the national coach. And despite her high school diploma, she has trained hard over the past two weeks. "She really knuckled down and what I saw was great. I'm looking forward to seeing her give the best possible performance on Monday," said Wiersma.
Knee problems during podium training
During podium training in Hall 1 of the Leipzig Exhibition Center on Saturday, Helen Kevric performed dynamically and elegantly on her special apparatus, the uneven bars. On the floor, however, she was slowed down by a knee ligament, and she skipped the vault training session altogether. According to Wiersma, however, it was just a precautionary measure so as not to jeopardize her start in the qualification this Monday evening.
The gymnast herself also gives the all-clear. "I've got a good feel for the apparatus and I really like the hall. That's why I'm looking forward to Monday," says Kevric. And continues: "My form is good. I'm at the same level as I was and I'm ready." She is fully focused on the start of the home European Championships - also because of the lack of previous coaches. "I'm also doing it a bit for them."
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