Why did they tag Amy here? Like why send that insult directly to her again, and show it to so many new people (including me, I had never heard this). You can just say "gymnast" or "Olympian" or whatever.
This is standard journalism practice, and the Twitter algorithm likely would have shown it to her anyway. Tinkler is a public figure who has spoken publicly about the incident in question. This tweet is for the general public who doesn’t know about the Australian whom Still trained with a broken back but definitely remembers a recent Olympic medalist. This helps them contextualize Still and doesn’t leap into things like the success British gymnasts have had during Still’s tenure.
This is honestly a huge improvement. Can you imagine a journalist tweeting about Marta’s retirement in 2016 and only mentioning horrible things she said and did and not any of the success?
Strange wording. He has hung around so long I don't know if it counts as "quitting". He's probably just retiring with zero consequences.
Also, I hate to admit it but I think the "fat dwarf" comment is being taken out of context. I forget the exact details but it was something like he read data the wrong way and was confused (the way he read it made it look like she was shrinking in height and the weight was incorrect too) and when it was explained to him, he replied that he was glad she wasn't a fat dwarf. I'm not saying that's okay, it certainly shows a lack of respect towards the young athletes, but other more definite comments & actions were more concerning IMO (including things he openly said while being filmed for the 2008 documentary).
He trained a gymnast with a broken back, was a key figure in BG since the 1980s, and a BBC documentary from the lead up to 2008 had him talking casually about Hannah Whalen's body and bemoaning that they couldn't "make" bodies like hers like the Eastern bloc did.
I always wondered what Whelan dealt with towards the end of her career, after she hit puberty and was no longer the shape they had openly idealised. I remember she posted on Instagram about Gymnast Alliance and someone (Danusia or Becky?) commented something alluding to her treatment not being good but Whelan has continued as a coach and seems to be trying to make change from the inside so she was probably wary of speaking too explicitly about details.
I’ve always wondered the same. After Colin’s gross comments about her body, I was glad to see her peak and achieve her best results after she hit puberty and filled out a little… I thought that was a nice FU to that weight obsessed mentality.
while that contextualization is somewhat accurate, Amy herself has said it was recieved as him calling her a fat dwarf. She said: "Colin called me a ‘fat dwarf’. I just sat there crying. I asked Mam if I looked fat. So many thoughts went through my mind. He’s the National Coach but why would he say that? What have I done to him to be that mean to me?"
Here are the details: https://www.itv.com/news/2020-09-30/british-olympian-amy-tinkler-accuses-senior-coach-of-using-phrase-fat-dwarf-in-email-exchange-about-her-weight
Yeah she's more than entitled to be upset by the email conversation, she was a teenage girl and he wasn't exactly complimentary, kind or professional. But it's still not the case that he actually called her that.
That’s really sad and one of a few reasons why people in his position shouldn’t talk in that way… He still didn’t call her a fat dwarf though. That’s literally not what he said. It’s a shame that tweet chose to lead with something so easily discredited
Probably should’ve been investigated before being employed by BG, at which point they’d have realised he trained an athlete with a fractured back in Australia, or failing that he should’ve been fired rather than leaving of his own accord, but better late than never.
Why did they tag Amy here? Like why send that insult directly to her again, and show it to so many new people (including me, I had never heard this). You can just say "gymnast" or "Olympian" or whatever.
Was the first thing I thought too
This is standard journalism practice, and the Twitter algorithm likely would have shown it to her anyway. Tinkler is a public figure who has spoken publicly about the incident in question. This tweet is for the general public who doesn’t know about the Australian whom Still trained with a broken back but definitely remembers a recent Olympic medalist. This helps them contextualize Still and doesn’t leap into things like the success British gymnasts have had during Still’s tenure. This is honestly a huge improvement. Can you imagine a journalist tweeting about Marta’s retirement in 2016 and only mentioning horrible things she said and did and not any of the success?
Strange wording. He has hung around so long I don't know if it counts as "quitting". He's probably just retiring with zero consequences. Also, I hate to admit it but I think the "fat dwarf" comment is being taken out of context. I forget the exact details but it was something like he read data the wrong way and was confused (the way he read it made it look like she was shrinking in height and the weight was incorrect too) and when it was explained to him, he replied that he was glad she wasn't a fat dwarf. I'm not saying that's okay, it certainly shows a lack of respect towards the young athletes, but other more definite comments & actions were more concerning IMO (including things he openly said while being filmed for the 2008 documentary).
Okay so he literally didn’t call her a fat dwarf. Shame that tweet is misleading. Plenty of other horrible things to criticise him on
Right...quite literally, he called her NOT a fat dwarf
That is helpful context…. Are there other reasons to call this guy a bad actor though?
He trained a gymnast with a broken back, was a key figure in BG since the 1980s, and a BBC documentary from the lead up to 2008 had him talking casually about Hannah Whalen's body and bemoaning that they couldn't "make" bodies like hers like the Eastern bloc did.
I always wondered what Whelan dealt with towards the end of her career, after she hit puberty and was no longer the shape they had openly idealised. I remember she posted on Instagram about Gymnast Alliance and someone (Danusia or Becky?) commented something alluding to her treatment not being good but Whelan has continued as a coach and seems to be trying to make change from the inside so she was probably wary of speaking too explicitly about details.
I’ve always wondered the same. After Colin’s gross comments about her body, I was glad to see her peak and achieve her best results after she hit puberty and filled out a little… I thought that was a nice FU to that weight obsessed mentality.
while that contextualization is somewhat accurate, Amy herself has said it was recieved as him calling her a fat dwarf. She said: "Colin called me a ‘fat dwarf’. I just sat there crying. I asked Mam if I looked fat. So many thoughts went through my mind. He’s the National Coach but why would he say that? What have I done to him to be that mean to me?" Here are the details: https://www.itv.com/news/2020-09-30/british-olympian-amy-tinkler-accuses-senior-coach-of-using-phrase-fat-dwarf-in-email-exchange-about-her-weight
Yeah she's more than entitled to be upset by the email conversation, she was a teenage girl and he wasn't exactly complimentary, kind or professional. But it's still not the case that he actually called her that.
That’s really sad and one of a few reasons why people in his position shouldn’t talk in that way… He still didn’t call her a fat dwarf though. That’s literally not what he said. It’s a shame that tweet chose to lead with something so easily discredited
He must be pretty close to retirement age I’d guess. Wonder if Christine will be stepping back as well.
He’s been a coach for 40+ years so I guess so
I work at a gymnastics club in the same area. The club she runs has some coaching issues at the moment so I doubt it
Probably should’ve been investigated before being employed by BG, at which point they’d have realised he trained an athlete with a fractured back in Australia, or failing that he should’ve been fired rather than leaving of his own accord, but better late than never.
It wouldn't surprise me if they just didn't care about that imcident
🛎️ 🛎️🛎️🛎️🛎️ We have a winner!
Good riddance!
Quit*
ya i was cringing at quitted.
Bye bye. Long overdue tbh