Gymnast Nemour lifts lid on 'humiliation, tears' on way to Olympic gold / Photo: © AFP
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Gymnast Nemour lifts lid on 'humiliation, tears' on way to Olympic gold
Olympic gymnastics champion Kaylia Nemour on Friday spoke of the humiliation and violence she endured on her path to gold.
"Gymnastics is about discipline and repetition. But it's not about shouting, humiliation, or tears," the Algerian athlete told AFP in an interview coinciding with the release of her book, "L'ombre de l'or" (The shadow of Gold).
Nemour, 18, was crowned Olympic champion on the uneven bars at Paris 2024, captivating the crowd with her gravity-defying and extremely difficult routine.
Her performance secured one of Algeria's two Olympic gold medals, along with boxer Imane Khelif.
Born in France to a French mother and an Algerian father, Nemour trained for many years with the Avoine-Beaumont club in the Loire Valley, south-west of Paris.
She explained how she finally changed clubs last spring after breaking free from the "grip" of her former coaches Marc and Gina Chirilcenco.
"I experienced things that were completely unacceptable," she said of the "shouting, the insults" and the "humiliations" she claimed that she was subjected to.
"I cried every day, I had a knot in my stomach, I was stressed. But at 10 years old, I didn't realise it. It was all I had ever known.
"I was constantly told that this was what high-level gymnastics was like, that this was how it had to be done. So for me, it was normal."
The Franco-Algerian gymnast first spoke to the press about the subject earlier this year.
Following her claims, the French Ministry of Sports announced that it was monitoring the Avoine-Beaumont club "very closely".
The French Gymnastics Federation also provisionally suspended Gina Chirilcenco.
Since leaving the Avoine club for Dijon and her new coach Nadia Masse, Nemour won gold on the uneven bars and silver on the balance beam at the world championships in Jakarta last October.
"Okay, I succeeded (with my former coaches), but that doesn't mean it's the right method," she insisted.
"Now, with Nadia Masse, it's working out. I won this incredible world title, and this extraordinary medal on the balance beam."
A.Gasser--BTB
