Gymnastics Australia slammed for ‘sloppy’ bullying investigation of Olympic coach

An Australian Olympic gymnastics coach has been cleared of seven allegations of bullying by the National Sports Tribunal in a judgment which found Gymnastics Australia’s investigation to be “flawed, sloppy and unfair”.

Gymnastics Australia, the national federation for the sport, had in 2024 accepted seven of 12 bullying claims made on behalf of a then-17-year-old gymnast against Olga Belooussov. The allegations and subsequent arbitration were made public in a judgment uploaded to the tribunal’s website this month.

Georgia Godwin was coached by Olga Belooussov at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Godwin is not involved in the allegations and is not the complainant.Credit: Getty

Belooussov, and her husband Sasha, coached Georgia Godwin, now 28, to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and to two gold and three silver medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The couple have coached Australian athletes to 45 international medals since emigrating from Russia in 1991.

Both were also suspended by the federation for 18 months in 2013 for verbal abuse, the ABC first reported in 2021.

The most recent complaints were only directed at Olga Belooussov, who was investigated and found to have been in breach of the federation’s member protection policy clauses against bullying, according to the arbitration documents.

The allegations were made by a high-level ex-gymnast who was coached by the couple from eight to 17 years old for 32 hours a week. The seven complaints were based on incidents spanning a period of four months in 2023 when the gymnast was 17. A parent of the gymnast lodged the complaint on her behalf.

Gymnastics Australia found Belooussov had bullied the gymnast by allegedly ignoring her, by not using the gymnast’s name when addressing her, of speaking rudely to her, and that Belooussov called the gymnast and her teammates “princesses” due to their frequent injuries.

“She compared our training regimen in Australia, commenting that it’s the only place she’s been where there’s minimal training and yet a high rate of injuries,” the gymnast wrote in a statement.

Belooussov was first notified of the sanction made against her on June 12, 2024. She was given a six-month supervision order and made to undertake training sessions and attend six meetings with the federation. When she disputed the sanction, the federation referred the matter to the tribunal.

In making its submissions, the federation referred to the 2021 Australian Human Rights Commission’s independent review into gymnastics as a reason why it was committed to transforming the culture in the sport.

Olga Belooussov, Georgia Godwin and Sasha Belooussov at the Australian Gymnastics Championships in 2021. Godwin is not involved in the allegations and is not the complainant.Credit: Instagram

But in his judgment, Bruce Collins KC said the federation’s report was a travesty and should never have found any of the claims against Belooussov were true.

“I have worked in detail through each complaint in this case with a thoroughness which has left me with a sense of disbelief that charges such as this have been made the subject of two detailed formal investigations and ultimately a full arbitration with three or more directions hearings,” he said.

“The seven complaints made are based upon trifles which in turn became imaginary slights when applied to a busy no-nonsense high-performance coach who was getting on with her job and attending to other athletes as well.”

Collins went further to say that the federation did not understand its obligations under their agreement to be governed by the tribunal. It did not hire lawyers, and Collins said it failed to understand its duties to all members, including coaches.

“It is surprising that the body which initiated and progressed 12 serious charges which challenged the professional quality and integrity of Mrs Belooussov’s work should, in effect, make no independent attempt to support those charges when given the opportunity to do so,” Collins said.

‘It is rare in the legal world that you ever read such a decision.’

“Such a failure was not in accord with the critically important structure initiated by the Federal Government for the purpose of a rules-based approach to the fair resolution of sporting disputes and the sensible, practical foundation for the fair and proper resolution of sporting disputes.”

Belooussov hired a lawyer, Andrew Croxford, who said he had never read a judgment so damning, let alone one directed at a government-funded sporting body.

“It is rare in the legal world that you ever read such a decision,” he said. “There is a personal toll in responding to and having a matter like this hanging over your head. We were pleased with the outcome. Olga’s name has been cleared.

“The decision also has significant precedential value in that it stands as an example for sporting bodies of what not to do in matters such as these.”

A spokesperson for the federation supplied a statement, which in part read: “Gymnastics Australia was disappointed with the outcome and the comments made by the arbitrator within the decision.

However, with reflection and consideration, several internal changes have been made since this decision was published that include an internal sports lawyer on staff who oversees the operation of integrity matters…

“Gymnastics Australia wants to reassure all gymnasts that we are here to listen and to encourage them to have their voice. We will continue to respond to the complaints we receive and work to ensure outcomes are appropriate and bring long-term solutions for all gymnasts to feel safe, welcome and included in gymnastics activities.”

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