'I went from cloud nine to the of the pack' bottom

Becky Downie has overcome heartbreak, tragedy, and being ostracised in her sport toreach athird Olympics

- Tumaini Carayol

Ihe 2019 world championships seemed to mark atransformative moment in Becky Downie's lengthy gymnastics career. After years of tireless work, heartbreak, and multiple demonstrations of her immense resilience, Downie's grit yielded a first individual world medeal silver on the uneven bars. Less than a year before the Tokyo Games, she was ready for her ultimate goal of chasing Olympic glory.

Instead, she was to endure further pain. "The last couple of years have been the hardest cycle I've ever done, for so many different reasons," she says.

The gym work alone was challenging enough. Having toiled to ensure that she was in the best mental and physical form of her life by 2020, the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics by one year meant that Downie had to start from scratch. While all athletes were in the same position, as a 28-year-old gymnast, managing her body and remaining healthy presented a significant challenge.

During the same period, athlete-led movements around the world continued to spotlight a widespread culture of abuse within the sport, prompting Downie and her sister, Ellie, to become the most high profile British gymnasts to speak out. They detailed weight shaming, overtraining that led to injuries, and the insults they received during training. They thought they would be commended for their bravery, but Downie says that she and her sister were subject to significant backlash from figures within the sport that made their lives even more difficult.

"It went from cloud nine, being world medallists, being at the top of the program, getting into anew world of sponsors," says Downie. "There were a lot of things changing for us in a really positive way and then it was like everything just went. We were at the bottom of the pack, we lost all our sponsors, nobody really wanted to talk to us.