To date, the Flemish gymnastics federation has remained extremely vague about the reason for the dismissal. Mutual trust was lost, it was said in an official communiqué. Since then, no further explanation has been provided by the Gymfed and there is a lot of uncertainty, even among the gymnasts who are part of the elite operation in Ghent.
Meanwhile, Olympic champion Nina Derwael made it clear that she would not train outside the system under her trusted coach. But there is still no news about who will succeed the French trainers. Ben Weyts made it clear that he wants a successor appointed “within the month”. The Gymfed is said to be speaking to candidates.
Weyts said he also asked Gymfed for an explanation about the dismissal. “And it would be a sum of factors. There would be a breach of trust between management and the coaches due to a legal discussion about the exact end date of their contracts. This was already communicated to them in June (until the Paris Games, ed.) but previous commitments were reportedly reverted to on a regular basis, resulting in a breach of trust. Furthermore, there were also some conflicts in the gym about the interdisciplinary approach, which was one of the basic ingredients that emerged after the ethical discussion (about the psychologically transgressive behavior of which both coaches were found guilty, ed.). It is certain that this created an atmosphere that was not suitable for optimal performance.”
Either the Gymfed let the situation simmer or it had to intervene, Weyts explained. “At some point you have to make a decision. The Gymfed acted as a good family man, but as a less good communicator. Internally and externally, they made mistakes in that area, instead of communicating openly about a decision that I believe is defensible.”
Time is slowly running out, because the first World Cups are scheduled for mid-February, where gymnasts such as Derwael, Lisa Vaelen and Brassart hope to win Olympic tickets for Paris.
WATCH ALSO. Vaelen takes the fired coach to the king
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Tags: Weyts successor dismissed gymnastics coaches month communicated urgent solution needed Sports
