30 years later he returned with the ARD film crew to Montjuic, but not for fond memories of the Olympic past. hempel decided to tell the world how he was sexually abused by his coach here in beautiful Barcelona, in a public toilet.
prodigy
Jan’s sports career went to the adult level early, he was not yet 16 years old.
– Even when it was the GDR, we competed together. There were such competitions “Friendship” for the socialist countries, probably, since 1985, we periodically crossed paths at the start, – remembers the two-time Olympic champion Dmitry Sautin. – Hempel was a pretty private guy, he didn’t really communicate with anyone outside of the pool. And in general, you never know what is happening in the other team.
Yang claims terrible things happened in his team: Coach Werner Langer – and he started working with him when he was 11 – systematically raped him for 14 years.
“He said if I did that, I could rest in the afternoon.
Langer will not be able to answer these accusations. He committed suicide in 2001.
WHY HEMPEL DECIDED TO OPEN
In his Olympic debut in 1988, Hempel finished fifth, in Barcelona he stopped just one step from the podium. He has already won the first Olympic medal in Atlanta, and it was before these Games that he decided to take an important step – he informed the German Swimming Association (DSV) about Langer’s sexual harassment. The coach was then suspended, but the former Stasi was named as the reason.
“Everyone was quiet until today,” Hempel said. “And I think we need to talk about it.
Then the federation [DSV] said that if I dwell on it, our sport would be in danger and then I would not be able to practice diving. I then had goals in sport, I linked my life to that, ”quotes DPA Hempel.
EFFECTS
In the federation, after the outbreak of the scandal, they took action. Hempel pointed to coach Luts Bushkov, who still works in the team, – he was removed from his post, noting that the matter should be settled, since no one has canceled the presumption of innocence.
But scandal breaks out. Here are references to high-profile stories in the neighboring sport – gymnastics, initiatives to create centers for the protection of athletes, anonymous witnesses, hearsay witnesses in favor of Hempel…
In a word, the quiet world of diving is shocked by what is happening. olympic medalist Patrick Housing, recently retired, in an interview with German media urged to understand this story, but not to stigmatize everyone.
– You can’t put the blame on Bushkov, it’s unfair. He had no right to make decisions. At that time he was a small cog in the system as a coach. Of course, what happened is terrible. Jan Hempel must be heard. But I don’t understand why he only releases it 25 years later.
Source : MatchTV
