NOS Sport reported that Olympic champion Sanne Wevers has withdrawn from the Dutch National Team due to "an unsafe sports climate withi...
The Dutch gymnast cited a conflict with a teammate and the federation's failure to resolve it to be the reason behind her withdrawal from the national team.
"It is with great pain in my heart that I have indicated to the KNGU today that I am immediately leaving the national selection. Due to the behavior of a teammate, a persistent unworkable situation has arisen for me. As a result, I can no longer function properly within our team," the 30 year old gymnast said according to Google Translate.
While Wevers did not mention the name of the teammate, the the federation's technical director, Jeroen van Leeuwen, confirmed that there is a conflict between Wevers and gymnast Vera Van Pol, who was part of the 2016 and 2020 Dutch Olympic teams.
"Over the past six months, I have done everything I can to change this situation. Unfortunately, this has not been possible due to the lack of direction from the KNGU. I am therefore extremely disappointed in the KNGU," she explains.
"It has been going on for a while. I have done everything I can to restore confidence in my teammate and in the work situation. But she does not cooperate with this. I am really angry about that, but above all very disappointed."
"I have always been there for her and the team. She makes me choke. I find it unbelievable that the KNGU is not doing anything to rectify the situation. I have tried just about everything to solve this."
It was reported that Sanne was not happy with an interview Vera gave at the end of last year where she revealed that there were tensions between her and the Wevers family.
Vera said that she was deeply hurt by how Sanne and her twin sister handled her decision to not train in the national team's center due to what she perceived to be a negative environment for her.
She also said that Wevers' father and former head coach Vincent Wevers did not care about her mental health.
"Something happened there that I can never forgive them," Van Pol said. "That's where the irritation started. He and his daughters had a different interest."
According to ad.nl, Van Leeuwen said that Vera wanted to talk to Sanne and him, but the Olympic gymnast did not respond.
Photo: Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil
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