74 1GM Friday October 13 2017 | the times the times | Friday October 13 2017 1GM 75 Sport British Swimming crisis Sport ‘We weren’t treated like human beings’ CHRISTIAN HARTMANN/REUTERS

ONEDITION James Gheerbrant speaks to insiders from the British para-swimming team to unearth the finer details of what was described as a ‘climate of fear’

Times investigation “I remember ringing my friend in tears because I thought I was fat. Even They were one of the jewels in the some of the skinniest people in the glittering crown of British elite sport. team were told they were overweight. The Great Britain para-swimming Mainly with the girls, the boys didn’t team won 47 medals at the Paralympics really get it. You just don’t feel normal. Al-Khelaifi, left, has spent heavily since taking control of PSG, including the in Rio, propelling Paralympics GB to You feel like there’s something wrong Rob Greenwood world-record £198 million transfer of Neymar from Barcelona this year second in the overall medals table. with you the whole time. You just Rob Greenwood, the head coach, was constantly have a complex that Chris Furber named UK high-performance coach of something is wrong with you, which the year. But, behind the golden façade, takes its toll emotionally.” PSG president facing as with so many of Great Britain’s Another told me: “Greenwood would medal factories, lay a rotten core in drop little comments that would sit which the high-performance culture with you for ever. I had on a gym top was taken too far and verbal and and he said, ‘Isn’t that top a little bit World Cup charges emotional abuse was commonplace. small? Maybe you need a bigger size.’ I “We weren’t treated as humans, we was like, ‘That’s so cruel.’ ” Football of Arbitration for Sport. Swiss were treated as medal targets,” one Insiders paint a picture of an Matt Hughes prosecutors said that yesterday’s action swimmer told me. “We were just a environment where medal success was Deputy Football Correspondent was carried out with Eurojust, a number; gold, silver or bronze. We paramount, and the punishments European Union agency for didn’t have feelings, we weren’t people.” meted out to ensure that swimmers met Paris Saint-Germain’s Qatari president, co-operation in criminal matters. At the heart of what British Swim- their targets were extraordinary. If Nasser al-Khelaifi, is facing criminal “Multiple premises were searched, ming admitted amounted to a “climate swimmers failed to record personal charges of suspected bribery linked assets were seized and interviews were of fear” were Greenwood, who has bests, or did not pass “pressure to World Cup broadcasting rights, conducted as a result of this joint opera- since left his role, and Chris Furber, who training” sessions, they were subjected it was announced by Swiss federal tion,” Eurojust said in a statement. remains in his post as the performance to fines of up to £500 a time, from a prosecutors yesterday. The criminal investigation was director. Furber previously worked for salary of between £17,000 and £22,000. The investigation concerns alleged opened on March 20 but only British Cycling, another of the organi- “I was definitely out of pocket when I bribes offered to Jérôme Valcke, the announced yesterday, the Swiss federal sations that has been embroiled in an came back from Manchester,” one former Fifa secretary general, to award office said. It is one of the first direct ever-widening duty-of-care crisis. swimmer told me. “I was so broke it’s the 2026 and 2030 World Cup rights to links to Qatar in a series of investiga- British Swimming, Greenwood and ridiculous.” the Qatari-owned beIN Media Group, tions by authorities in the United Furber were contacted for this article On one occasion, swimmers claim of which Al-Khelaifi is chairman. States, France and Switzerland into and declined to comment. that they were encouraged to book Valcke is also facing a criminal Fifa and the 2018 and 2022 World Cup At British Swimming’s national first-class flights to Rio de Janeiro for investigation as part of a wider Swiss bidding contests. performance centre in Manchester, the Paralympics. If they met their inquiry into the activities of Al-Khelaifi Al-Khelaifi has been chairman of within the world-class para-swimming targets, British Swimming would cover and an unnamed businessman working Qatar Sports Investment since 2011, programme, swimmers describe a the cost; if not, it would come out of in the sports rights sector. Al-Khelaifi with the investment fund buying PSG culture seemingly rooted in verbal their own pocket. Other punishments has become one of the most influential that year and spending heavily on intimidation, psychological bullying allegedly included having to foot the men in world football in the past few transfers to establish the French club and draconian punishment. bill for the staff dinner and, on one years through his role in PSG’s develop- among the Champions League elite. Much of the verbal abuse allegedly foreign training camp, being confined ment into a global superpower and the French anti-corruption investigators took place in Greenwood’s office, to to the hotel for an entire weekend. charges will raise further questions carried out searches of beIN Sports which swimmers would be sent for the If the swimmers sought solace with about the methods used by Qatar to Paris headquarters yesterday, although most minor transgressions, such as the team psychologists, then the win the 2022 World Cup, even though Al-Khelaifi was not present. In a arriving seconds late for training. information imparted in confidence he was not an official member of the bid further development there were “Nine times out of ten [you were would be used against them they said. team. reports in France that Valcke’s son was called in] for no apparent reason,” one “Nothing was confidential within In a surprise announcement yester- briefly employed by PSG in 2013. swimmer said. “A lot of athletes left para-swimming, it all worked its way day it was alleged that Valcke had beIN media denied any wrongdoing there emotionally drained and back to Rob,” one swimmer told me. received “undue advantages” from the and said that it was co-operating with distraught. “There was no escape. You’d go to the businessman to award “media rights for officials. “We would come out of that room psychologist because you’d had a bad certain countries” for four World Cups “Following a request by the office of crying: you’d been told everything that session with him and he’d made you Greenwood, left, and Furber, right, pose with the Britain para-swimming team last summer. There is no suggestion that any of the swimmers in the pictures above and below have been involved in complaints against British Swimming from 2018 through 2030. The former the Attorney General of Switzerland was wrong with you, how you were feel mentally and emotionally drained, right-hand man to Sepp Blatter, the (OAG), the beIN sports offices in failing, how you weren’t going to and you’d go back the next day and get told me Furber was equally culpable. “It Greenwood was named coach of the disgraced former Fifa president, was Boulogne-Billancourt [France] were achieve. You questioned yourself, you told off because you’d said bad things was us and Rob, but Chris knew about continued from back year after Britain won 47 medals at the questioned yesterday and properties searched this morning,” the company questioned your ability to achieve about him. We felt like we had no one to it,” they said. “Chris saw things happen. ‘It became a climate of fear’ 2016 Games in Brazil. In addition to the searched in France, Greece, Italy and said in a statement. “The employees on anything in life.” talk to, nowhere to go.” Chris is 100 per cent accountable. Yes, athletes who spoke to this newspaper, Spain. site co-operated with the authorities “They came out as white as a ghost, While Greenwood allegedly presid- Rob should be held accountable, but so funding decisions. Anyone over 25 was Carson Russell, whose 21-year-old Valcke was given a ten-year ban from until the end of the search. beIN Media crying floods of tears,” another insider ed over most of the abuse, one swimmer should Chris. It was his regime.” considered a “write-off”. daughter Hannah was among those football by Fifa’s ethics committee last Group refutes all accusations made by said. “It looked like their heart had been Even for swimmers who have left the Greenwood left his role at British who complained, told the BBC last year after being implicated in irregular OAG. The company will fully co-oper- broken, so demoralised, so taken aback. programme, the impact continues to be Swimming this year but Furber, who night that families had been through World Cup ticket and broadcast rights ate with the authorities and is confident You didn’t want to do anything wrong. Problems in British sport felt. “It was constant emotional was in charge of the programme and turmoil and solutions were still needed. sales, although the Frenchman is as to the future developments of this If your car broke down you would run turmoil,” one said. “It’s taken me a long made aware of several athletes’ “It is disappointing when you have to contesting that suspension at the Court investigation.” to swimming. I don’t think he was British Cycling time to rebuild from it. I question complaints, is still in his job despite listen to your daughter on the end of the actually physical with them, but words A report in June that looked at myself a lot now. I used to be quite Maurice Watkins, the governing body’s phone who is upset and fearful at the are like a smack in the face anyway, bullying claims said that there was strong. There are still moments where I chairman, apologising to swimmers way she is being managed,” he said. “I aren’t they?” a “culture of fear” within the go, ‘Do I look big in this?’ You slip back and their families for “failings”. am aware that other families have been Coach sacked after rider revolt On one occasion, I was told, Green- organisation into apologising for things that you Furber has, however, had some through a lot of turmoil, a lot of distress wood called a teenaged female swim- shouldn’t apologise for.” disciplinary action taken against him, over the last two or three years. Cycling been questioned by the riders. Canoeing mer a “c***” for having a poor session. One swimmer, in their reflections on according to British Swimming. Both “As a parent, you want your child to Alyson Rudd Doubts about his man-management Weight was a constant preoccupa- An independent investigation was Greenwood, summed up the moral men and the governing body declined be in a rewarding environment, that’s techniques emerged in the debriefing tion, with the measuring of swimmers’ launched in the summer after dilemma that confronts British elite to comment when the new allegations how you get the best out of athletes — One of the most technically gifted undertaken by British Cycling after the skin-folds around the stomach verging claims of abuse sport. “He got the results though — were put to them yesterday. but if they are pushed too far, that can coaches at British Cycling was sacked 2016 Games. on obsessive. “Skin-folds just seemed to think how many gold medals we won,” The athletes who spoke to The Times slide away, and that’s what’s happened, and escorted out of the National Wiggins had previously stated that be the pinnacle of everything,” one Bobsleigh they said. “It worked, so did he there- felt that the inquiry had not gone far and that then did become a climate of Cycling Centre in Manchester on he would not have been in a position to swimmer told me. “To the point that Complaints have been made about fore do anything wrong?” But for their enough. Complaints were initially fear that people could not operate in.” Wednesday. even consider winning in Rio had you became obsessive about it. the sport being “toxic” with racism success, the athletes of the para-swim- made last October and the independ- Russell said that success must be Heiko Salzwedel is an endurance Salzwedel not been persuaded to “Other athletes have come out [of the accusations against a senior coach ming programme paid a heavy price. ent investigation started in February. balanced with athletes’ welfare. “The specialist and the German was at the rejoin British Cycling for a third stint in programme] and I believe are still “If you did crumble or cry, it was But British Swimming’s decision not to pursuit of medals is integral to athletes heart of the team pursuit triumph at 2014, having been involved in 2002 and struggling with weight problems now. I Archery almost like you were pathetic, it was name the coaches or discuss the speci- getting up every day, driving them- the 2016 Rio Olympics, in which 2008. had a lot of comments about my weight A senior coach was suspended this like, ‘Do you want to be an athlete or fics of the allegations has upset some selves — it’s what elite sport is about,” Sir Bradley Wiggins and his Officially, the German is still on the during my time there. ‘You need to lose summer after a complaint to police not?’ ” another swimmer said. “Yes, I swimmers. he said. “But you can strive for world- team-mates set a world record to defeat payroll but he is not expected to a bit more’, ‘You’re not as slender as you over an alleged incident involving a know it’s hard being an athlete, but The revelations are a further blow to class performances in an environment Russell holds the bronze medal that Australia. take any further part in preparing the should be’. It was constant. I was there a female para-athlete there comes a point where it’s all too Greenwood was named UK high-performance coach of the year in 2016 after a a sport that was held up as one of the big where you are looking after athletes was won between claiming two golds However, it is understood that riders for next week’s European Track while, it was a lot to take. much and it’s not acceptable.” successful Paralympics, but serious accusations have since been levelled at him success stories of recent Paralympics. and their welfare comes first.” at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio Salzwedel’s methods had increasingly Championships.