Olga Gymnastics Survivor Blows the Whistle: Abuse, Cover-Ups, and the Phelps Legacy

Emma Webb, author of Historic, exposes the untold history of Olga Gymnastics club and the Phelps family legacy. We break down the abuse scandal, the Whyte Review, Gymnasts for Change, and how survivors pushed British Gymnastics to finally reform.

INTERVIEW

We talk with Emma Webb (pseudonym), author of the new book Historic: The True Legacy of Childhood Sport - The Book Every Parent Needs to Read, a memoir detailing the trauma and abuse she endured under convicted child sex offender Brian Phelps, plus the aftermath of how the British legal system chose to protect abusers over children

CHAPTERS (pre-auto inserted ads)

00:00 – Trigger Warning SA

01:03 – Brian Phelps’ criminal charges and conviction  

01:39 – The broader British gymnastics abuse reckoning  

02:01 – Gymnasts for Change and the Whyte Review  

02:36 – Restorative Program & the £15,000 split survivor offer  

03:28 – How Emma first contacted GymCastic  

03:44 – The long-term psychological and medical impact  

04:10 – Doctors discovering internal injuries from childhood abuse  

06:10 – Phelps' police interviews and his admissions  

07:26 – Why survivors didn’t pursue further prosecution  

08:05 – Brian and Monica’s life in France & public exposure  

10:19 – Mapping all Olga locations & survivor triggers  

11:05 – The pandemic pause and worsening mental health  

11:33 – Discovery of the Phelps Legacy Club in 2022  

12:10 – Multiple Phelps family members and their roles  

12:22 – The “new” Renascence club operating despite convictions  

12:28 – Timeline of Phelps fleeing & survivor disclosures  

13:01 – A disturbing encounter: the club near Emma’s son’s bus stop  

14:20 – Emma’s decision: “Enough.” Why she wrote Historic  

15:06 – Reporting to the Whyte Review & British Athletes Commission  

16:30 – Why reporting in the UK is a bureaucratic nightmare  

17:36 – How reporting was mishandled & why systems fail  

18:22 – How British Gymnastics and the council were complicit in Brian Phelps crimes

19:24 – Employment history: Phelps employed by the government & BBC  

21:00 – Coaches and community “knew something was wrong”  

21:14 – Other roles Monica and Brian held despite accusations  

21:23 – The name “Renaissance” and why it matters  

22:03 – How the club reopened after his release  

22:45 – A fully avoidable tragedy: Phelps’ first arrest in 1966  

23:31 – Commonwealth Games cover-up to protect his career  

24:34 – Royal audiences for Phelps & protected reputations  

25:05 – The 10-year gap between his arrest and Emma meeting him  

26:09 – How court attitudes toward sexual abuse haven't changed  

27:03 – The Nik Stuart Foundation honoring Monica Phelps  

28:13 – British Gymnastics leadership celebrating the Phelps family  

29:29 – Video clip from the ceremony: denial of the Whyte Review  

30:23 – Widespread knowledge in diving and gymnastics  

32:03 – Comparing the Whyte Review to US investigations  

33:25 – How the Whyte Review minimized sexual abuse  

34:00 – Abuse in British Gymnastics: a larger pattern  

35:55 – Non-sexual forms of abuse and lifelong harm  

36:20 – Warning signs parents should not ignore  

37:04 – Why the culture enables predators  

38:17 – Parents’ responsibility & due diligence  

39:26 – Closed-door clubs & lingering dangers  

40:39 – Male survivors vs. female survivors: unequal response  

41:13 – How BG acted quickly for boys, not for girls  

42:06 – Phelps' public statement denying Emma’s reporting  

43:29 – No mandatory reporting for the public in the UK  

44:33 – Comparison to mandatory reporting vs good samaritan laws

45:05 – The UK protects money better than children  

45:46 – How political leadership minimizes child abuse  

46:12 – British boarding school culture & abuse  

47:10 – What reforms are needed: national banned list & ombudsman  

48:05 – Name changes allow offenders to disappear  

48:14 – Hundreds of convicted offenders now untraceable  

48:18 – How many survivors have come forward  

49:01 – How many survivors known before the book  

49:27 – Realizing past abuse only after adulthood  

50:07 – Childhood context and normalization of abuse  

51:01 – “Trust and Obey” culture at Olga and British school 

52:53 – The moment Emma became a survivor, not a victim  

53:30 – Returning to Olga decades later  

54:01 – Parental responses and guilt  

55:05 – What acknowledging PTSD unlocked  

56:02 – How the trauma resurfaced during the pandemic  

57:23 – Complex PTSD and real recovery work  

58:07 – Finding effective PTSD support  

 TOPICS

• Read Whyte Review Investigation, a full independent review into the allegations of abuse in British Gymnastics
• How we got in contact with Webb after our Commentator Hall of Shame episode
• What moved Webb to write this book?
• How many times had Brian Phelps been investigated and was still allowed to coach?
• That time Monica Phelps (neé Rutherford) was still recognized at an award banquet and thanked her "partner"
• How can we convince parents to act quickly and take their children out of dangerous situations?
• Difference between how British Gymnastics treated male victims vs female victims?
• Should countries pass  mandatory abuse reporting laws similar to good samaritan laws?
• How she finally got help and finding a great therapist.
• Silver linings in her journey.
• What does justice look like for Emma.

RELATED:

• GymCastic's Safeguarding checklist - questions everyone should ask a gym before signing up or working at a gymnastics club
• Historic book website 
• Brian Phelps diving when he should have been in jail
• BBC Gymnastics historical sex abuse case: Survivor claims 'catastrophic failures'
• Monica Phelps awarded at 2003 Nik Stuart Foundation
• Mike Swallow speaks against Whyte Review at Nik Stuart Foundation awards
• Olga Gymnastics / Renascence Club corporate documents
• British Gymnastics hired private investigator to track down survivors of judge
• British Gymnastics banned list 
• Report - Childhood trauma increases risk of MS
• SafeSport Training
• British Gymnastics Safeguarding 
• The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles
• Aly Raisman book
• GymCastic Episodes
  • Gymnastics Commentary Hall of Shame
  • Aly Raisman Interview 
  • British Ute Amelie Morgan
  • Lady Lisa Mason
  • Beth Tweddle Interview

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