Shock in sport: South Korean triathlete committed suicide due to mistreatment of her coaches | sports

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A South Korean triathlete committed suicide after having suffered for years physical and verbal aggression from his coaches and having seen how his complaints to the sports authorities were ignored, according to the press in that country.

Choi Suk Hyeon, 22, a junior bronze medalist at the 2015 Asian Triathlon Championships in Taipei, reportedly died in his team’s dorm in Busan, southeast.

According to widely shared screenshots on social media of the last message he addressed to his mother, he begged her to “reveal the sins” of her attackers.

One day, the young athlete wrote in her diary: “I have been attacked in such a violent way … that I cry every day.”

Several articles in the South Korean media claim that Choi Suk-hyeon made recordings of the harsh physical assaults.

In a document released by the YTN network, her coach is heard getting angry because the girl had gained weight: “You should avoid eating for three days,” he says. Then add: “Clench your teeth” and the sound of a slap is heard.

According to the press, team officials forced her to eat 200,000 won (about $ 166) of bread to punish her for not controlling her weight and regularly assaulted her.

Unanswered complaints

The triathlete complained to the South Korean Olympic Committee (KSOC) in April, in the hope that an investigation would be opened.

One of his acquaintances explained to the Yonhap press agency that “he sought help in many institutions, but all ignored his complaints.”

These facts were denied by the KSOC, which stated in a statement that it had designated an investigator after the complaint.

Expressing his “deep regret”, he promised to take “severe measures” against the people involved. The prosecution is now dealing with this matter, he added.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for “rigorous measures” to prevent future abuse in the world of sports. The absence of an “appropriate response” to the triathlete’s complaint is “truly a problem,” he estimated.

Meanwhile, a petition launched late Thursday on the site of the South Korean presidency for an in-depth investigation had collected 35,000 signatures.

South Korea is a regional sports power that regularly figures among the top ten nations to win the most summer and winter Olympic medals.

But in a very competitive South Korean society, winning counts a lot and in the sports universe, physical and verbal abuse are frequent.

Last year, South Korean Shim Suk-hee, a double gold medalist in the short-track Olympics, accused her former coach, already convicted of having assaulted her for years and serving a ten-year prison sentence, of sexual assault.