LIFETIME OF PAIN
Before 1984, the U.S. women's gymnastics team had won only one Olympic medal: A bronze at the 1948 games in London. So when the Karolyis arrived in the U.S. and opened their gym in Houston in 1982, they began attracting gymnasts who wanted to train with the coaches who catapulted Nadia Comaneci to fame. One of their first U.S. students was Mary Lou Retton, who won five medals, including a gold, at the 1984 Olympics. Her success cemented the Karolyis' reputation.
After that performance, hundreds of girls from all over the country wanted to train with the Karolyis, who launched a long — and profitable — relationship with USA Gymnastics. At the ranch, the Karolyis controlled every aspect of the girls' lives, from their diets to daily routines, former gymnasts told the AP. They would search the girls' rooms, looking for snacks that might be stashed away, according to the lawsuit and interviews with former gymnasts. The Karolyis, their staff and sometimes other visiting coaches would publicly ridicule girls about their weight or bodies and force the gymnasts to work through devastating injuries.
Sara Tank Ornelas said that soon after she began training in 1985 she realized that the Bela Karolyi she had seen on TV, who was "animated and acted like he loved kids," was not the Bela who was in the gym. "We were treated like a business plan," said Ornelas, now 44 and living in Wichita, Kan. She said she suffered 13 broken bones while training at the Karolyis' Houston gym from age 11 to 15. Being hungry was part of life. A typical breakfast was a measured amount of cereal. Lunch consisted of dry tuna and a few crackers.
Former gymnast Mattie Larson, who began training at 10, said she feared even drinking water because of possible weight gain. She took laxatives daily for six years. The lack of calories and intense workouts left the girls' bodies malnourished, delaying puberty. Puberty was something to be feared, she said, and girls who developed breasts were ridiculed. "If a girl started wearing a bra, coaches would snap the bra and the other girls would make fun of them," said Ornelas, who trained all year between 1985 and 1989, when she said a botched surgery ended her career.
Associated Press
