«After so much pressure I choose happiness»- Corriere.it

An early retirement «in exchange for happiness». This is the reason why the British champion Ellie Downie said goodbye to gymnastics. Gold medal in the All Round at the 2017 European Championships and 13th in the All Round at Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 at just 17 years old, the champion from Nottingham feels that the time has come for her to leave the world of competition and change her life. “After really difficult years, I leave with a heavy heart and a whirlwind of emotions – explained the12-medal winning athlete on her Twitter account – gymnastics has been my life ever since I started having memories and I’m proud of everything I’ve been lucky enough to achieve, like victories and medals. However, health and happiness are my new priorities, I want to give more space to my mental serenity ». These are the words of the athlete who, with an amazing final exercise in the floor exercise, had brought the Great Britain on the top step of the continental podium.

Thought it was time to update you all?
Links for the podcast will be in my bio?? pic.twitter.com/GhsSxn5TM1

— Ellie Downie (@elliedownie) January 23, 2023

The brother who died in the field
In his short career, almost always following in the footsteps of his sister and colleague Rebecca “Becky” (also a former agonist), Downie had denounced pressure and abuse from technicians last year, especially with regard to the “infinite pressing” due to her weight. “These are wounds that will never heal,” said the gymnast, also referring to the disappearance of older brother Josh, who died suddenly on the pitch while playing cricket, suffering a heart attack at the age of 24 during a training session. Because of this tragedy Ellie had also given up on Tokyo Gameswhich took place in the summer of 2021.

A hostile environment

In the world of artistic gymnastics Ellie has repeatedly faced the harshness of a world like that of artistic gymnastics. The champion had spoken on several occasions about psychological abuse and harassment, arguing that by now certain behaviors on the part of coaches are almost “normalized” and “rooted” (a problem that has arisen in the United States and more recently also in Italy). An environment made of fear and pressure for Downie, in which commitment and dedication were constantly questioned, often with excessive training that his body was unable to sustain. The athlete had fought on several occasions to change things, in his near future, even without going on the platform, he could continue to raise public awareness on the subject.