Bradley Wiggins: “Molested at 13 by a coach”

Eight Olympic medals, five of which gold, between road and track, seven world titles, the victory in the Tour de France and the hour record on the track. It is the palmares of sir Bradley Wiggins, one of the greatest cyclists of recent years. It was known that he had had a difficult childhood and adolescence due to a complicated relationship with his father and stepfather, but now comes a revelation that goes far beyond what was known. The former London champion told the monthly Men’s Health to have suffered harassment at 13 by one of his first coaches.

Bradley Wiggins had his father’s story and their problems with alcohol on paper in his biographies. In his life there have been ups and downs, constant fluctuations in weight to make both the track and the road. There was no lack of accusations, never proven, of doping.

Now he talks about harassment without revealing the name of the abuser. “I was harassed by a coach when I was younger, I was about 13, and I never fully accepted it. All of that impacted me as an adult, I removed it. My stepfather was quite violent with me. He used to call me “fagot” for wearing lycra and stuff, so I didn’t think I could tell him. I was a loner. I just wanted to get out of the environment. I isolated myself. I was a rather strange teenager in many ways and I think the passion for cycling was born from these adversities ».

He remembers his father’s violent death. “I never got any answers when he was murdered in 2008. He left us when I was little, I met him for the first time when I was 18. We rekindled some sort of relationship but then we haven’t talked for the last two years before he was killed. He was my hero. I wanted to test myself with him. He was a good cyclist, he could be really good, but he wasted his talent. He was a alcoholica rather violent manic depressive, and in those days he took a lot of amphetamines and sports drugs. ‘

Wiggins is a story of male violence, but the features are no different from the many events of violence against women. The case of the doctor of the American gymnastics team Larry Nassar it was striking with dozens and dozens of molested girls, all very young. He will remain in prison for life with sentences of 175 years in prison for abusing 160 victims.

Sarah Abitbol, French figure skater, who accused her coach Gilles Beyer of raping her when she was between 15 and 17 years old. Not the only abuses in the French skating team. Cho Jae-beom, South Korean coach was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for sexual harassment of Shim Suk-hee, Olympic short-track champion. He also had previous convictions.

Is called SafeSport the independent committee that will investigate harassment and violence in the world of sport in the US. Anyone who comes into contact with young athletes must be controlled and there must be a form of public traceability. All with codes and without names to respect privacy.

Other stories of Vanity Fair that may interest you:

– Save, there is also a service against violence for sports women

– Sexual abuse scandal: US women’s football stops