Romanian Gymnastics Federation dissolves national teams after harassment scandal

During the Executive Committee meeting on Thursday, November 20, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation decided to dissolve the national teams after a series of public accusations of harassment.

The accusations are not new. At the end of October, upon returning to the country after the World Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta, 23-year-old athlete Denisa Golgotă revealed that she had filed a complaint for physical and psychological harassment and that the Federation had ignored it. The subject of the complaint was allegedly fellow athlete Sabrina Voinea.

In response, Sabrina Voinea's mother and trainer, Camelia, announced that she will sue Golgotă, according to Euronews Romania.

Subsequently, former gymnasts, under the protection of anonymity, accused Sabrina Voinea’s mother of physical and verbal violence. Footage of Camelia Voinea verbally abusing her daughter was made public soon after.

All these episodes and accusations were discussed during the Romanian Gymnastics Federation Executive Committee's 7-hour meeting last week.

The dissolution means that each athlete will train at the club to which they belong. There will no longer be centralized training with the entire team, with athletes brought to a national center. The measure was also taken in 2019 as a result of below-expectations results at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.

“It was a very difficult Executive Committee, with a lot of pressure on all fronts, including the recent events that occurred in the public space, because we really had to settle things at the Executive Committee level,” said Ioan Suciu, president of the Federation, according to as.ro.

The video with Camelia and Sabrina Voinea was also sent to the Disciplinary Committee, the official noted.

“I did not like what I saw. We will respect the decision of the Disciplinary Committee,” he added, saying that any individual sanction will have to follow the investigation.

Mihai Covaliu, president of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, also weighed in.

“I want to emphasize that we do not tolerate such behavior regarding the coach-athlete relationship. We will never tolerate this kind of behavior! No coach should behave this way with an athlete, especially if that athlete is his child!” he said.