Olympics: British reporter upset at tough training
By Tom Knight (telegraph)
Updated: 2005-11-18 09:33

Matthew Pinsent says he is "shocked and disturbed" at the treatment of young Chinese gymnasts preparing for the next Olympic Games.

The four-time Olympic rowing gold medallist revealed his sensitive side while working for BBC Radio Five Live in Beijing.

Pinsent, whose trip to the city that will host the Games in 2008 was part of his fledgling career as a broadcaster, claimed children as young as five were in pain while training at a specialist sports school. He claimed a boy was beaten by his coach, leaving red marks on his back.

In the second of three reports from Beijing, Pinsent watched a group of about 40 youngsters in training.

He said: "It was a pretty disturbing experience. I was really shocked by some of what was going on. I know it is gymnastics and that sport has to start its athletes young, but I have to say I was really shocked. I think it's a brutal programme. They said this is what they needed to do to make them hard.

"I do think those kids are being abused. The relationship between coach and child and parent and child is very different here. But I think it goes beyond the pale. It goes beyond what is normal behaviour. It was really chilling."

Pinsent, a former member of the International Olympic Committee's Athlete's Commission, who cited his ambitions to be a broadcaster as the reason for him not contesting the recent election for the next chairman of the British Olympic Association, added: "When I talked to the vice-principals, they said hitting was against the law but then there were parents who want you to do it."

While questions remain about China's human rights record, the impact of this story for the Olympics remains to be seen.

The International Gymnastics Federation promised to seek clarification while the IOC pointed out that they would not comment on the reports they had heard only at third hand and what was Pinsent's "personal interpretation" of what he saw and heard in Beijing.

The IOC's medical commission produced a paper on The Training of the Elite Child last week.

A spokesperson for the IOC said: "Without question, physical abuse in sport goes against all Olympic values but it's important to make a judgment only on clear facts. Only last week, a group of experienced international journalists were in Beijing and had free access to athletes, including gymnasts and they were very impressed by what they saw."

Pinsent said he believed that giving the Olympics to China was helping to make the country more accessible.

He added: "I still think it will be a good thing but I have to say my experience at that gym…"