“I was dropped like a hot potato,” German gymnast Meolie Jauch said last year about how she didn’t receive proper support from her colleagues after her cruciate ligament injury. The surprising retirement announcement by the 17-year-old rising gymnastics star in 2024 opened the floodgates to a string of allegations about abuse at DTB (German Gymnastics Federation) facilities. Naturally, fans are still coming to terms with the horrors the athletes had to go through.

Stiff competition defines the world of elite gymnastics. The demands of the sport are high. Athletes have to train rigorously to maintain their peak physical condition. The stars can be pushed to their mental and physical limits by the coaches, sometimes under these scenarios. And that’s what has been rocking the German gymnastics community in recent days, with a fresh development now unfolding in front of us.

The latest update on the German gymnastics situation shared

A post on the Subreddit r/Gymnastics from January 21 shared the DTB’s latest move to address the allegations made by the German national gymnasts. “DTB has hired a law firm to handle an independent investigation into abuse in German gymnastics,” the post highlights, and goes on to elaborate, “The law firm will be paid by the DTB.” The accompanying article also claims that the DTB has been in extensive communication with the involved parties about the misconduct allegations at Stuttgart’s federal base and has decided to hire law firm Rettenmaier Frankfurt to look into the matter.

“The firm is to investigate both specific cases and systematic failure with the authority to look backward. At the same time an independent expert council will be formed to advise the DTB on changes moving forward,” the Reddit update shared more insights about what changes gymnastics fans can expect to see in the coming days and how the DTB aims to overhaul its internal functions.

During the investigation, Vice President of Elite Sport Ulla Koch, who was named in the allegations, will be stepping down from her position. “The aim of the independent legal investigation is, on the one hand, to investigate the individual allegations. On the other hand, the incidents are to be considered with a view to possible organizational and systemic deficiencies,” the DTB article claimed. However, while the external investigations are being relied on by the German gymnastics apex body, the fans still have their reservations, especially with the details that have come up so far.

Just another day of abuse in gymnastics leaves fans upset

Three years ago, allegations of psychological violence by coach Gabriele Frehse at the Olympic training center in Chemnitz sent out a major ripple in Germany. Rettenmaier Frankfurt was also called in as the external investigator at that time. And one fan reminded me how that didn’t work out well for the stakeholders. “This is the same law firm that did the investigation in Chemnitz in 2020. Not everyone was happy with how the investigation was run back then,” the Redditor commented.

For American gymnastics lovers, any mention of abuse at the gym will undoubtedly cause serious emotional upheaval. After all, Umme Salim-Beasley from Rutger’s was placed under paid administrative leave just last week. This was after her misconduct as the Scarlet Knights head coach came to the fore. Naturally, the fiasco in Germany has also struck a chord with the Americans. One fan opined that the coaches named in the DTB scandal should have made better choices. “The third coach should not be involved in this.”

Another fan shared some silver lining amidst all the bleakness. “I saw a post on social media also saying that two coaches would not be returning to their job in Stuttgart,” updated the fan. Another fan added more to the statement, writing, “I was told by three people within German gym: a coach and 2 judges. But even that is just word of mouth.” However, one fan claimed that these won’t affect much, highlighting. “As far as I understood from newspaper articles, they are not there that much.” So what do you make of the situation? Tell us your take on the matter with a comment!