Panorama · Season 73 · Episode 15
The Dark Side of Swimming Clubs
Monday, May 19 · 29 min
More than 100,000 children train at swimming clubs across England, many hoping one day to compete at the Olympics. But do those dreams of gold medals come at too high a price?
Panorama speaks to swimmers who developed eating disorders after being bullied about their weight by coaches and investigates the role of the sport’s regulator, who knew about allegations against senior coaches but did nothing. Swim England has apologised and promised to learn from past mistakes.
Reporter Rebecca Woods also investigates the case of convicted rapist Antony James, a former Olympic swimmer who groomed young girls in plain sight at the club where he was a coach.
