Swim England 'truly sorry' over abuse and bullying claims

The caput of Swim England said she was "truly sorry" swimmers had suffered maltreatment and vowed to "do everything" to erase a civilization of bullying.

Olympic medallist Cassie Patten said alteration was vital, having felt "broken" aft years of antagonistic comments. 

Swim England said an autarkic reappraisal would prosecute with swimmers and coaches.

More than 100 swimmers person joined an online enactment radical aft Commonwealth younker golden medallist Phoebe Lenderyou said she had battled bulimia for 5 years owed to coaches' obsession with her weight.

Multiple swimmers person told the BBC they had been damaged by relentless bullying, humiliating nationalist weigh-ins, fat-shaming and grooming connected injuries.

Many said they had been frightened to talk retired for fearfulness of being treated worse oregon kicked disconnected their team.

Ms Nickerson said caller experiences "across nine and wrong our sports person shown successful achy item precisely why" alteration was needed.

"We person a zero-tolerance attack to mediocre behaviour, but we person to beryllium unfastened and recognise that sadly not everyone has had the affirmative acquisition we would expect from information successful our sports," she said.

"For that I americium genuinely sorry.

"If we are to beryllium palmy successful this taste alteration travel past we request everyone successful aquatics, successful immoderate relation astatine immoderate level, to perpetrate to collectively doing everything we perchance tin to present the positive, safe, welcoming situation and civilization that we each privation to see."

Details of the autarkic reappraisal were revealed arsenic the Loughborough-based governing assemblage launched its safeguarding and payment plan, the Heart of Aquatics.

It volition name an autarkic adept to perceive to the views of everyone successful aquatics - from swimmers and their parents to coaches, volunteers, clubs and aquatics schools - and people and larn from the findings.

Former Team GB swimmer Patten sacrificed galore things successful her puerility to absorption connected swimming and was rewarded with a bronze medal astatine the 2008 Beijing Olympics successful the 10km unfastened h2o event.

But her adoration of the athletics was rapidly replaced with loathing erstwhile she began suffering superior "disordered eating" aft becoming "fixated" with losing value connected her coach's instructions.

She said a "massive disproportionate magnitude of focus" had been enactment connected her physique aft she had enactment connected immoderate value pursuing her Olympic success.

"I'd marque myself sick, not portion thing the nighttime before, I'd beryllium going to the toilet respective times earlier my weigh-ins; thing to get the lowest imaginable fig connected the scales," she said.

The cracks had started to amusement erstwhile she was younger and, arsenic her Olympic imagination edged closer, she told a manager she had decided to power clubs.

"He ignored maine for months until I left. It showed maine I was a commodity to him and not a person," she said.

The athlete, who raced alongside golden medallist Rebecca Adlington successful Beijing, ended up quitting aged 24 successful 2011 owed to a enarthrosis injury, her hopes of competing astatine the 2012 London Olympics successful tatters.

"I was broken, mentally a ammunition of who I was and a precise unhappy person. I hated swimming, I couldn't enactment connected a swimming costume for years," she said.

"I've spent years getting implicit it and moving connected my narration with food," she said.

Patten said she had been inundated with swimmers coming guardant to stock their ain stories of maltreatment since the BBC's article.

She said she had besides reached retired to 1 of her erstwhile coaches to speech astir what had happened and helium had apologised.

"I deliberation that's truthful important to recognise. It does amusement that determination are coaches who are consenting to beryllium reflective."

Richard Hookway, who chairs the organisation's board, said it was determined to get an "honest, thorough reflection of the civilization wrong aquatics present and previously" by listening to members.

"Aquatics is simply a almighty unit for good... supporting people's carnal and intelligence wellness and determination are fantastic examples of this crossed the country," helium said.

"However, we cognize that, connected occasions, behaviours person fallen abbreviated of the civilization we desire.

"We recognise we indispensable continuously strive to amended successful bid to foster a affirmative civilization and present for the radical who are the lifeblood of our aquatic sports."

Patten, who lives successful Oxfordshire and runs her ain coaching company, is pushing for regular mandatory grooming for coaches. Currently, coaches are not obligated to upskill erstwhile they person qualified.

She wants the civilization alteration to see keeping the speech going, a willingness to question and reappraisal practices and for coaches to beryllium reflective.

"We indispensable besides person respectful challenge. It should beryllium OK for swimmers to talk up if they aren't blessed and besides determination past coaching norms. What was acceptable 10-20 years agone whitethorn not beryllium acceptable now," she said.

She besides had a connection for those who perceived radical speaking retired astir affectional maltreatment arsenic weak.

"I don't bargain this snowflake stuff. Giving idiosyncratic the respect they merit is not being a snowflake," she said.

"Just due to the fact that this mightiness beryllium a wide civilization wrong athletics doesn't mean we person to judge it successful swimming."