Qi Han: Gymnastics coach barred from teaching unsupervised after he put students into 'fat' groups
CORNELIUS, NORTH CAROLINA: Leading gymnastics instructor Qi Han has been prohibited from training without supervision as a result of claims that he physically, emotionally, and verbally abused girls as young as nine years old. Han allegedly divided the gymnasts into "fat" groups and made them hold handstands for ten minutes.
Han, who has been the target of official accusations for seven years, tormented gymnasts, who said his methods "brainwashed" them and prompted them to suicide, according to DailyMail. He is accused of giving gymnasts who he considered to be "fat" extra training while also calling them dimwitted or unworthy of his attention. The United States Center for SafeSport announced this week that he had been subject to coaching limitations and is being investigated by the center for alleged abuse of at least one of his athletes. Furthermore, he is forbidden from having any unsupervised phone, text, or email conversations with gymnasts, according to a letter shown to New York Times.
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Who is Qi Han?
Han owns Everest Gymnastics in North Carolina, where he runs the facility with Yiwen Chen. They both have previously competed for China's national gymnastics team. Han was born and raised in China before coming to the United States and founding the Everest Gym.
'I was never good enough for him'
Olympic athlete Ashton Locklear, dancer Taylor Laymon, and gymnast-turned-dancer Allee George were previously named as three of his accusers, according to New York Times. Two additional accusers have not yet come forward. Locklear posted a New York Post article on her Instagram stories on Friday, February 24 with the description "the fact he's been a known abuser since 2012... healing."
In a private conversation shared by Locklear, George stated, "I was never good enough for him. I trained 30+ hours a week with him and I won everything 3 years in a row and he still told me every day that I sucked, was awful and that I would never amount to anything."
The statement continued, "He would be nice every once in a while, and I would think he was the most amazing person ever. I always wanted to be the best I could be to impress him so hopefully he wouldn't scream at me or punish me. I'll never ever forget the 10-minute handstands that made my head feel like it was going to explode blood and if I came down I had to start over."
'I still feel like I'm terrified'
"This is just one of many stories. Why did it take them this long to listen!?" Locklear, who is now 25 years old, wrote in the post's description. In a 2018 interview with the New York Times, Locklear said that Han would threaten to complain to Martha Karolyi, the former national team coordinator, about her.
Locklear stated, "He would constantly say I was stupid and that he would tell Martha that I was bad and she would hold it against me. I had to walk on eggshells. This is why athletes are afraid to come forward. Coaches have this power over their athletes that keeps the athletes scared and silent. I still feel like I'm terrified."
What sort of response did Qi Han's accusations get?
Monica Avery, the head coach and proprietor of the OSEGA Dream Academy south of Asheville, North Carolina, supported the girls' claims, according to New York Times. She said that Han should have been "stopped years ago," adding that the "emotional damage all these girls had to go through is so heartbreaking."
A parent of a gymnast at Han's gym earlier told the New York Times that they were afraid to report his abuse for fear that he would prevent their daughter from obtaining a college gymnastics scholarship. Everest Gymnastics said in a statement, "We do not tolerate abuse of any kind in our facility. If any credible abuse allegations exist. Everest Gymnastics encourages those parties to contact U.S.A. Gymnastics," according to New York Times.