User:Jilltaylor2/Artistic Gymnastics

Physical Health
Gymnastics sits on many lists of the world's most dangerous sports.

Mental Health
The pressure of the sport can make it even more dangerous to athletes. During the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, gymnast Simone Biles took a step back from competition to assess her mental health and ensure she was not putting herself at a greater risk of physical injury. Other athletes have expressed their support and called for a greater emphasis on mental health in gymnastics.

Controversies and Abuse
USA Gymnastics began investigating several coaches in their program for abuses of all kind. In April of 2020, Maggie Haney, former coach of Olympian Laurie Hernandez, was suspended for eight years following her allegations of verbal and emotional abuse toward her gymnasts.

Upon investigations of those working closely with Larry Nassar, John Geddert, head coach of the 2012 Women's Olympic Team, was suspended by USA Gymnastics for sexual assault, physical abuse, and human trafficking, and committed suicide shortly after being charged in February 2021. The Federal Bureau of Investigations had heard allegations from gymnasts regarding their sexual abuse as early as 2015, but did not address them until years later when Nassar was sentenced to prison in 2017. At the time of Nassar's court hearing, more than 160 women had spoken up about the abuse they endured. In a Senate hearing from September 2021, the victims and their representatives claimed that Nassar had abused 120 more women from the time the FBI knew about his allegations until the time they took action against him.

During the 1996 Olympics, Kerri Strug had injured her foot after her first vault. However, her vault was what was standing in between Team USA and a gold medal. Strug performed her second vault, landing on one foot and was carried off by her coach crying in pain. Strug's teammate, Dominique Moceanu also opened up about the abuse she experienced. She said that she competed in the Olympics with a tibial stress fracture. Additionally, she fell on her head during her beam routine, and talked about how none of these injuries were treated properly. After being the coordinators for Team USA for nearly three decades in 2016, Bela and Marta Karolyi retired. After allegations that gymnasts were experiencing sexual abuse while training at the Karolyi ranch, it was officially closed in 2018.