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Former Illinois coach charged with secretly videotaping gymnast

// 2008/11/26 17:56:28 (1753 reads)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- A former University of Illinois gymnastics coach has been charged with secretly videotaping a gymnast in a campus locker room.

John Valdez, who coached Justin Spring at the Beijing Olympics, was charged Tuesday with one count of unauthorized videotaping, Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz said. The charge is a Class 4 felony and carries a potential sentence of one to three years in prison.

Valdez resigned from the university in October, citing personal issues.

A gymnast training on Sept. 25 with Valdez in the gym used by the men's gymnastics team noticed a handheld video camera partially hidden under a T-shirt in an open locker, Rietz said.

The 22-year-old gymnast, who is a student, reported the camera to Valdez, but later called campus police and found the incident had never been reported to them, the prosecutor said.

Police who later searched the 40-year-old Valdez's Urbana home found the camera.

"The images had been deleted, but the technicians were able to restore the deleted images," Rietz said. She didn't immediately comment on what was on the tape.

Lance Northcutt, a Chicago attorney representing Valdez, did not immediately return a call Wednesday from The Associated Press.

Valdez has no local telephone listing, and neither Rietz nor the university's athletics department knew how to reach him Wednesday.

Valdez is scheduled to appear in court in Urbana on Dec. 12.

Rietz didn't believe other recordings were made and said no other charges were planned.

Illinois sports information director Kent Brown said the locker room isn't used by the general student population, and school officials have no reason to believe cameras were placed anywhere else on campus. The university plans no changes in its security based on the charges against Valdez, Brown added.

"I think we've done everything possible to ensure the safety and security of our student athletes," he said.

Valdez also faces a drunken driving charge in Waukesha County in Wisconsin after a Sept. 18 arrest. He's pleaded not guilty.

Valdez coached at Illinois from 2000 until his resignation on Oct. 17. He accompanied Spring to the Beijing Olympics, where the U.S. men won the bronze medal.

Earlier this year, the university announced that Valdez would succeed head coach Yoshi Hayasaki when Hayasaki retired following the current season. The university has since hired a new assistant coach, two-time Olympian Ivan Ivankov from Belarus.

www.ESPN.com
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Tom Cruise's Daughter Dream

// 2008/11/22 12:10:37 (468 reads)

Tom Cruise wants his two-year-old daughter Suri to be an Olympic athlete. The 'Valkyrie' actor is convinced the tot has the potential to become a gold medal winner and is even building a $7,000 private gym for Suri.

A source said: "Tom believes Suri could become an Olympic gymnast so he is installing a gym in their Manhattan apartment." The new workout room boasts a balance beam, mini trampolines and padded tumbling mats to help Suri develop her gymnastic talents.
However, Tom's wife Katie Holmes is adamant their daughter should be allowed to have fun and doesn't want to put too much pressure on her. The source added to America's National Enquirer magazine: "Katie just kind of rolls her eyes. She is trying to get Tom to let Suri have some fun."

(C) BANG Media International

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Olympic Gymnast Claims Karolyi Beat Her

// 2008/11/22 11:57:58 (424 reads)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A former Olympic gymnast who trained with the world-famous Karolyis in Romania claims Bela Karolyi frequently beat her. Trudi Kollar, known to the world as Emelia Eberle, was a 12-year-old when she was summoned to join Romania's national team in 1976. She earned 13 individual medals in international competition, including an Olympic silver medal. In Romania, Kollar trained under legendary coach Karolyi and wife Martha for six years. She lived full time at the Karolyis' gymnastic center in a small town in Transylvania -- isolated, bars on the windows, very little food and terrified. "In one word, I can say it was brutal," she said.Kollar said mistakes in training or competition brought physical pain -- frequent beatings from Bela Karolyi. "Nobody's perfect, so obviously we did mistakes. And we, you know, just got smacked everywhere from Bela -- on all our body parts. You know, he has huge hands and it hurts," Kollar said. "I had blood coming out of my body. I had my ears -- my skin ripped behind my ears. I had pus behind my ears, but, you know, nobody seemed to care." Karolyi athletes were highly successful -- 40 medals for Romania from 1973 to 1981. In the U.S., their successes included Mary Lou Retton, Kerri Strug and Dominique Moceanu. Martha Karolyi is now the U.S. national women's gymnastics coordinator. She led the American team into competition in Beijing. Bela Karolyi is partly retired, a respected expert and star commentator for NBC during the Olympics. Kollar said Martha Karolyi watched the abuse and sometimes inflicted her own punishment. "Occasionally she scratched us. She stuck her fingernails in the back of our necks, and she shook us," Kollar said. KCRA 3 tried repeatedly to reach the Karolyis for comment. They did not respond to phone calls, faxes or registered mail. A fellow Romanian gymnast, Rodica Dunca, confirmed the violence. In a 2002 article in ProSport magazine, she said: "On certain days, we were hit until blood was pouring out of our nose. You can say it was a concentration camp. Or even a prison." Gym practices were closed to everyone but the Karolyis and one other adult -- team choreographer Geza Pozsar. He worked with them for 30 years. Pozsar said Kollar's story is absolutely true. "I saw all the activities that went on. Of course I saw the beating and the abuse, you know, as Trudi told you," Pozsar said. Pozsar said Bela Karolyi was large and powerful, and that Kollar was a frequent target. "Trudi was the most abused, I mean physically. And when he hit her on the back, you can see that big hand, you know, landing on her back. That is something you would never forget," Pozsar said. Pozsar is now a gymnastics coach and runs his own gymnasium in Sacramento, where Kollar has worked for 15 years. He's hadn't previous spoken out about the Karolyis. Another witness, Joanna Voss, was a nurse who worked at the Karolyi camp in Romania. Now living in Sweden, Voss talked to KCRA 3 by telephone through an interpreter. "The girls were verbally and physically abused. And basically that was the normal practice," Voss's interpreter said. She added: "I resented for the girls, and I was on their side. And I felt that when they were physically abused or verbally abused -- slapped -- like they were, I felt like they were slapping me." Kollar, now 44, is a dedicated wife, mother and gymnastics instructor -- and still lives with vivid nightmares of her past. "It is horrifying," she said. I wake up crying. My pillow is wet from tears. I'm sweating, I'm kicking, I'm shaking -- that's how I wake up."

Reported by: Tom DuHain
Web produced by: Joe Rosemeyer

www.kcra.com

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Darling Hill Recovers from Surgery

// 2008/11/21 18:30:00 (591 reads)

Pensacola, FL – Darling Hill is scheduled to see world renowned shoulder specialist Dr. Andrews of the Andrews Institute September 26th at the Andrew's Institute in Pensacola, FL. Darling hurt her right shoulder while attempting to catch a release on bars earlier in 2008. At the time Darling was already nursing an injury to her left shoulder. Yet, Darling competed much of the 07-08 season with injuries in both of her shoulders and was able to still make the national team in 2007 because of her very strong performances on Beam, Floor, and Vault. She opted out of having surgery earlier this year to keep her bid open for making the 2008 Women's Olympic Team. Darling just missed her goal of making the 2008 Olympics but she feels she is still yet to reach her full potential. At 19 many female gymnasts might be past their prime. But, anyone who has seen Darling up close will tell you she is one of the most physically fit athletes you will ever see. Darling comes from a long family of athletes including body builders and top basketball recruits. Darling is talented enough that she could have easily signed a full athlete scholarship to perform only three events in college. Her shoulder injury does not prevent her from doing amazing Floor, Vault, and Beam routines. Darling medaled on bars at a World Cup event earlier this year. "I think her desire to get her shoulder properly fixed is an exciting indicator that she will return to the elite scene as an all-arounder in 2009. Either way, we're behind her", said Denise Taylor, Team Gattaca General Manager.

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Golden, Henderson, Townsend Named to National Team

// 2007/2/23 11:06:02 (1024 reads)

(LAS VEGAS/ Feb. 22, 2007) – Sean Townsend, Sean Golden, and Jamie Henderson were added to the USA national gymnastics team, as a result of this past weekend’s Winter Cup Challenge, held in Las Vegas.
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