The Nottinghamshire Cricket Board Premier League said: Everyone within the NPL community is incredibly saddened to hear of the passing of Josh Downie, only 24 years old. “For too long, the health and well-being of young girls has been of secondary importance to a dated, cruel, and – we’d argue – often ineffective culture within women’s gymnastics training.”īecky described how she had been “trained to the point of physical breakdown” on many occasions in her career, adding: “Only in recent years I’ve understood properly the mental impact that’s had upon me.” Downie’s sisters Becky Downie, 29, and Ellie Downie, 21, both representing Team GB at the Summer Olympics. Sporting talent runs in the family, with Josh's sisters Becky and Ellie Downie both gymnastics world championship medallists. “While exact experiences obviously vary, we both recognise the environment of fear and mental abuse those before us have described so bravely. Josh Downie was a talented cricketer (Image. “It’s taken years and years to understand and come to terms with it. Gymnast sisters Becky and Ellie Downie are heading to the Rio Olympics following a send-off party thrown by the club where their careers began. “We certainly didn’t realise how wrong it was at the time,” they said. In a joint statement released via their respective social media channels, the pair said they had experienced a litany of historic bullying and abuse, including a focus on weight, which Ellie said had “left deep scars which will never be healed”. It comes after British Gymnastics this week launched an independent review into allegations of abuse in the sport.īecky, 28, and Ellie, 20, both won medals at last year’s world championships in Stuttgart. LONDON: World gymnastics medallists Becky and Ellie Downie have spoken out about the “environment of fear and mental abuse” that blighted their rise to the top of the sport in Britain.īecky and her younger sister said they decided to speak publicly after witnessing the “brave” testimonies of an increasing number of contemporaries.