International ethics body finds Gymnastics Australia breached human rights of young participant

Gymnastics Australia has been found to have breached the human rights of a young gymnast who sustained a serious spinal injury while training, with a damning report from the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation (GEF) raising fresh questions about the sport’s complaint-handling processes.

The GEF Disciplinary Commission - an independent body established by the Fédération Internationale Gymnastique (FIG) - determined that Gymnastics Australia failed to protect then 12-year-old Melbourne gymnast Trinity de Lance from non-accidental violence, ignored her reports of abuse, and neglected to ensure her complaint was handled with appropriate care.

As reported by the ABC, De Lance, now aged 17, had been training up to 32 hours a week in 2020 when she was repeatedly instructed to perform backward walkovers despite reporting significant back pain. She estimates being asked to complete up to 40 repetitions in a single session, which led to a chipped vertebra and long-term injury confirmed through scans and medical reports.

A complaint lodged with Gymnastics Australia in 2021 was referred to Sport Integrity Australia (SIA), whose independent investigator concluded the matter was “neither substantiated or unsubstantiated.”

However, the GEF review has since found that SIA’s process was flawed, citing a failure to interview key witnesses, including the doctor who examined de Lance, and a lack of trauma-informed protocols in interviewing the then 13-year-old athlete.

The GEF panel ruled that Gymnastics Australia failed to properly supervise or delegate the investigation and, in doing so, ignored de Lance’s right to have her complaint adequately heard.

The Commission stated "through its failure to appropriately delegate, Gymnastics Australia failed to respect the gymnast’s human right to have her complaint adequately investigated."

For Trinity and her mother, Stieve, the ruling is the outcome of a four-year pursuit of accountability.

The de Lances’ experience reflects concerns raised in the 2021 Australian Human Rights Commission’s review of gymnastics, which exposed a toxic culture of physical, emotional and sexual abuse across the sport. Their case was supported by advocacy group Athlete Rights Australia, whose co-founder Alison Quigley described the initial investigation as “derelict” and damaging.

Quiglet noted “key witnesses not interviewed, key evidence not examined, lack of trauma-informed protocols – rather than being an investigation, it was just taking the coach’s word over the athlete without following any leads."

Responding to the GEF findings, Gymnastics Australia issued a statement acknowledging and accepting the decision, emphasising that the process had been conducted independently. However, Trinity and her mother say Gymnastics Australia has never contacted them directly, apologised, or checked on her welfare.

While the determination cannot impose sanctions, it sets a precedent within both gymnastics and the broader sporting sector that failure to consider key evidence and adopt robust safeguarding standards amounts to a breach of human rights.

Quigley went on to say "this is a milestone determination … It’s also a message to the broader Australian sporting community that SIA’s methods must be robust, and that national sports bodies cannot simply hide behind flawed processes.”

Kitty Chiller, Chief Executive of Gymnastics Australia at the time of de Lance's incident, was Deputy Chief Executive of the National Sports Tribunal from January 2022 to December 2024.

Image: Trinity de Lance, now aged 17, broke her back in training at the age of 12. (Supplied).