A look into the life of ex-Olympic gymnast Stan Wild
STAN Wild became a household name during his gymnastics career in the 60s and 70s.
He represented the country at two Olympic Games before his career collapsed.
Who is ex-Olympic gymnast Stan Wild?
Stan Wild was a gymnast who competed in several national and world competitions matches.
He was born on February 19, 1944.
Wild represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games twice in his career before setting up his own gymnastics club in his home city of York.
He also represented his country at four world championships and three European championships.
He founded the York City Gymnastics Club in 1974 as an after-school club, before the parents raised money to build a gym in Heworth, with the club later becoming the York City Gymnastics Foundation.
It is reported that over 20,000 children have taken lessons at the club over the years.
Why wasn’t Stan Wild allowed to coach?
Wild was banned from coaching after police investigated the allegations against him.
He was banned from membership by Britain’s national governing body for gymnastics, following a hearing by a disciplinary panel and a five-year ban.
This meant he could not work with children and young people within a British Gymnastics recognized environment.
He was ruled out on December 10, 2020.
A new documentary explores the allegations against Wild, with a former gymnastics student opening up about sexual abuse when she was seven years old.
Nikki O’Donnell said: “He destroyed my life emotionally and mentally… He touched me in places no little girl should be touched.”
She added: “Nikki claims the abuse started after she hit puberty.
“I noticed that the places where he put his hands were not normal.
“It would start with a slap on the butt, as if to say, ‘Good job, you did a good job,’ but then a slap on the butt would turn into a pat on the butt, and he would have his hand there and he held it there and massaged my buttocks.
“I started thinking, this is a bit weird, my mother doesn’t do this to me.”
ITV documentary Gymnastics: a culture of abuse? examines the fight for justice by British former gymnasts who claim they were physically, emotionally or sexually abused by their coaches as children.
It comes after a damning report called the Whyte Judgementpublished in 2022, exposed a systemic culture of physical and emotional abuse in British gymnastics.
Where is Stan Wild now?
It is unknown what Wild plans to do next.
It seems he has been living a private life since he was banned from coaching gymnastics.
Wild denied the allegations and no charges were filed due to insufficient evidence of a sexual act.