South Korean triathlete commits suicide, leaves behind evidence of abuse

[clairecloutier]

This is an awful story ... South Korean triathlete Choi Suk-hyeon committed suicide in late June. Her family has released extensive audio and written diary evidence indicating that she was subjected to long-term psychological and physical abuse by her coaches and even another teammate. Horrifying. Why does this keep happening.

South Korean Triathlete’s Suicide Exposes Team’s Culture of Abuse (Published 2020)

After Choi Suk-hyeon’s death, her family released secret audio recordings that depict the physical and psychological abuse she appeared to suffer at the hands of her team’s doctor and coach.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Sylvia]

From the end of this AP article a few days ago:

SKorean officials vow to look into triathlete's abuse claims

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Top South Korean officials on Monday offered a public apology and vowed to delve into the death of a triathlete who had reported to government and sports bodies that she had been abused by her team coach, physical therapist and colleagues.

apnews.com

The abusive treatment of athletes has been a deep-rooted problem in South Korea, which considers achievements in Olympics and other international sports events as a source of national pride. Athletes often live in dormitories, where coaches often exercise overbearing control, and they skip school from a young age in order to perform well at athletic events, leaving them with less education and career choices, which makes it harder for them to resist unjust treatment, experts say.
In recent years, South Korean female athletes, wrestlers and judo and taekwondo players accused their male coaches of sexually abusing them. Members of the country’s silver medal-winning Olympic curling team, cheered as the Garlic Girls for their hometown’s famed produce, accused their former coaches of verbal abuse and holding back prize money.

 

[Buzz]

Thoughts and prayers to her loved ones. Heartbreaking that this sort abuse still happens.

 

[MacMadame]

I'm kind of in shock about this. Triathlon, in general, is so not that kind of sport. It's the kind of sport where one athlete will give another athlete a spare CO2 cartridge when they have a flat tire even though the one with the flat is favored to win (and actually did end up winning).

 

[Aceon6]

I'm kind of in shock about this. Triathlon, in general, is so not that kind of sport. It's the kind of sport where one athlete will give another athlete a spare CO2 cartridge when they have a flat tire even though the one with the flat is favored to win (and actually did end up winning).

You can really enjoy competition and your fellow athletes and still be getting intense pressure from your federation and coaches. I think the difference is that most Western triathletes are free agents and choose their own training situations funded by sponsors. The Korean system seems quite different.

 

[MacMadame]

The Korean system seems quite different.

It's highly unusual for this sport. I don't think most countries care that much about their triathlon team, either. And the dominant countries all have a different model than S. Korea.

It's still a shock.