Children in elite sports - A lost childhood | DW Documentary

For top-class sport, many people have had to sacrifice their childhood. Even before they reach the age of 10, some have experienced a range of abuse. More and more athletes are speaking out, in order to draw attention to this.

Behind the shiny façade of major sporting events with billions of spectators lies a tragic reality: the disregard for the rights of hundreds of thousands of children. In the early 1980s, doctors expressed increasing concern about developmental disorders in young people involved in competitive sport, but their warnings were ignored. More recently, statements by sports icons such as Michael Phelps and Thierry Henry have fueled the debate and confirmed the findings of numerous studies by pediatricians, psychologists and sociologists. It is becoming increasingly clear that children are abused in a variety of ways in elite sport: Excessive training times and doping have consequences such as fatigue fractures, burnout, depression, anorexia, growth disorders, missed periods, alienation from the family, social isolation or dropping out of school.

The most urgent warnings come from the athletes themselves, such as the former British gymnast Claire Heafford, who heads the association "Gymnasts for Change", active in 13 countries. Canadian synchronized swimmer Gabrielle Boisvert, together with four teammates, filed a class action lawsuit that encouraged thousands of athletes from over 20 sports to also raise their voices.

International conventions regulate the working conditions of minors, but there are no specific regulations for children in competitive sport. Some are now calling for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to be applied to elite sport, while others are working on a special status for underage athletes.

The documentary uncovers abuses of unimagined proportions worldwide. More and more athletes are speaking out about the extreme conditions they suffered in their childhood.

#documentary #dwdocumentary #dwdocs #athlete #elitesports #children
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