Story By Alisson Mutler: Romanian gymnastics coach Camelia Voinea allegedly verbally abused her own daughter, the gymnast Sabrina Voinea, according to images obtained by journalists from Golazo sport news outlet.
The latest revelations come after another gymnast on the national team, Denisa Golgota publicly accused Camelia Voinea of subjecting her to physical and psychological harassment and said the Romanian Gymnastics Federation ignored her complaint.
Retired gymnast Voinea, 55, has been accused of physical, verbal, and mental abuse by multiple former gymnasts, who alleged that they were hit for making mistakes, beaten on the head, and dragged by the hair.
In a statement on Nov. 5, Voinea claimed that accusations against her had passed their statute of limitations and accused gymnasts of trying to ‘denigrate’ her.
The president of the Romanian Olympic and Sporting Committee said: “We won’t ever tolerate this kind of behavior. There’s no way a coach can behave like that with an athlete, especially if the athlete is their child,” said Mihail Covaliu, adding the federation would deal with the case.
In a post on Facebook. Camelia Voinea claimed there was “a coordinated campaign against us which can only harm Romanian sport and our gymnasts.” She said that “as a parent and coach I have raised my voice, and I regret that, perhaps I am upset, stressed or am severe.”
According to the images published on golazo.ro on Tuesday, Sabrina Voinea, now 18, was on the parallel bars, under the guidance of her mother when she missed a move and got off.
Her mother came toward her menacingly. “As if she was afraid of being hit, Sabrina quickly moved away from the area, but then resumed the exercise,” Golazo reported. Sabrina Voinea is believed to have been 8 or 9 when the film was shot.
Sabrina failed again and can be heard saying that she couldn’t train any longer. “Mommy, I can’t take it anymore! I want someone to come to me. I can’t take it anymore! I’m battered!”, “I can’t take it anymore, my ribs hurt! I can’t do it anymore!”, Sabrina can be heard saying while her mother insisted she resumed training.
Sabrina eventually returned to the bars, but before she could start she tried to convince her mother to let her perform another exercise. Camelia Voinea retorted: “What can I do if you’re stupid? Go on, repeat it without stopping!”.
Camelia Voinea was also heard saying “go to hell” at one point. Later, Sabrina missed again and was at the end of her tether: “Mommy, I can’t do it anymore! I’m completely battered!”.
The images published by Golazo.ro are from several years ago and appeared a week after the publication ran a series of revelations from former gymnasts trained by Camelia Voinea.
Under the protection of anonymity, they accused Camelia Voinea of violence. “The coach beat (me) mercilessly, continuously, until she had enough. She liked to see you suffer.”
Camelia Voinea denied that “whips and barbaric methods” were used in her training sessions and claimed gymnasts wanted to ‘denigrate’ her.
One gymnast claimed she was on the verge of suicide because of the treatment she was subjected to.
On October 27, having returning to Romania from the World Championships in Jakarta, the gymnast Denisa Golgota went public with allegations of physical and psychological harassment in the national team. She allegedly notified the Romanian Gymnastics Federation but no action was taken.
“We filed a complaint that was not taken into account. Everyone knows what it’s about. The people I train with in the gym harassed me and tried to make me give in mentally. Unfortunately, the federation looked the other way!”, Golgota said.
Voinea who competed for Romania in the 1980s heydays, was known for her powerful tumbling and her innovative floor exercise that featured breakdancing elements.
She scored a perfect ten for the floor exercise in 1987 during the team competition event at the World Championships. She won a silver medal at the Seoul Olympic Games and retired the same year.
For more news and update, click here to download our mobile app – Veritas Daily
To explore advertising or sponsorship collaborations, click here to contact us
Leave a Reply