Gerrit Beltman landed in Belgium in early 2000 in the wake of Aagje Vanwalleghem, who had worked under the Dutchman in Friesland. He made sure that she was the first Belgian gymnast to go to the Olympics in 2004. But in 2008 he got into disagreement with the Gymfed and had to quit.
Beltman went back to work in the Netherlands and that is where gymnastics has been since the brutal documentary Turn! under a magnifying glass. In an interview in the Noordhollands Dagblad, Beltman now also admits that he has often gone too far in his coaching.
“My behavior is not justifiable in any way. I insisted on winning at all costs and took a hard line. I am deeply ashamed now.”
“Never had I consciously intended to hit, name-calling, hurting or belittling. But it did happen. I thought it was the only way to cultivate a top sport mentality. I talked,” Beltman says mea culpa.
According to Beltman, his approach was certainly not unique in the gymnastics world. “There are more coaches who have behaved like this. I saw that they did the same thing that I am now aware of: psychological and physical flogging.”
Last Tuesday, the Dutch gymnastics association announced that there will be an independent and subsidized research into cross-border behavior in sport.
