An independent union wouldn’t only combat well-publicised issues in British sport – it would also give athletes a voice and ensure greater transparencyWill the last Olympic sport in Britain free from bullying, sexism or racism allegations – or, indeed, disgruntled athletes – please turn out the lights? The question is especially pertinent given British Gymnastics has now joined the lengthy roll call of sporting bodies accused of allowing “a culture of fear”, with athletes and coaches afraid to speak out for fear of reprisals.How many times must we hear that F-word before we accept that it is not just the odd snowflake who cannot handle the rough and tumble of elite sport? And, then, will we actually pledge to do...
Japanese IT giant Fujitsu is developing a 3D sensory system that will make scoring easier. But will computers ever fully replace human judges?A light blinks on the black box alerting the gymnast to begin her routine. She launches off the vault, lands and turns to salute the robotic judge. Her score is already flashing on the big screen to the Olympics crowd and to millions of viewers at home, who have followed the live scoring as the move is dissected in real time.This is not a scene from Blade Runner 2049, but a possible vision of gymnastics future as it races to include artificial intelligence in its judging system. Related: USA's Morgan Hurd wins surprise gold in all-around final at...
The Olympic silver medallist has been suspended for two months for what amounts to blasphemy by his sport’s governing body that seems to have an inflated view of its own importanceNews that gymnast Louis Smith has been suspended by his governing body for mocking Islam is so 2016. I don’t want to bang on about the auto‑satirical state we’re in, but this is basically the blasphemy law being revived by British Gymnastics. It’s certainly one in the eye for parliament, which abolished the offence of blasphemy in 2008 – but perhaps those outplayed politicians can now retaliate by arbitrarily changing the scoring system for the uneven bars.By way of a recap, Smith and his fellow gymnast Luke Carson were filmed...