After her sensational gold on the balance beam at the European Championships in Munich, gymnast Emma Malewski thought primarily of one woman: her former ex-trainer. Malewski: “Gaby Frehse also has her share, because she brought me here in the first place. She came here with me and I will continue with Anatol Ashurkov, hopefully all the way to the top.”
Ashurkov is Gabriele Frehse’s successor. After the quarrels about the 62-year-old, the native of Belarus took over the job in Chemnitz, where Malewski trains. Frehse said to WELT: “Emma’s words mean a lot to me, they make me very happy. We are still in close contact and wrote before the final.”
And that is what is special about the statement by the native of Hamburg. Malewski’s national team colleague Pauline Schäfer and other gymnasts accused Frehse 2020 of rudely insulting her and other athletes during training and of administering medication without medical control and consultation with the parents. There was also talk of psychological violence. But Schäfer’s allegations
After the Olympic base in Saxony (OSP) had released Frehse at the instigation of the German Gymnastics Federation (DTB), the Olympic squad athletes Malewski, the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist on the uneven bars, Sophie Scheder, and Lisa Zimmermann initiated a fundraising campaign for the trainer, so that you can continue to pay for them. Frehse’s club, TuS Chemnitz-Altendorf, for which the 18-year-old does gymnastics, hired the trainer on a voluntary basis when the decision on Frehse’s appeal against the dismissal was still pending. The city of Chemnitz then imposed a hall ban on Frehse, which was lifted by the court after the dismissal by the OSP had previously been declared null and void.
So Frehse has won all lawsuits so far. However, since Malewski is part of the federal base that is subordinate to the DTB, which no longer wants to work with Frehse, the trainer would only have one chance to take the gymnast under her wing again. “I could just sue, but I’m deliberately not doing so until the case has been finally decided. That’s no use to anyone, it would only cause unrest. In the interests of the girls, I’m holding back,” she says. Because the DTB, for its part, appealed against the most recent court decision in Frehse’s favour, and this is still ongoing.
“The girls are the ones who suffer the most. All the more surprising is Emma’s gold. Nobody could have counted on that,” says Frehse: “Emma was allowed to live a huge dream. She always wanted to hear the national anthem for herself, now she’s heard it.” EM gold should not have been the last word by a long shot. Elisabeth Seitz had to be 28 years old before she finally won the long-awaited European Championship gold on the uneven bars on Sunday after bronze in the 2018 World Cup and two European Championship medals. Kim Bui also ended her career on Sunday at the age of 33 – without an international title. And now there is an 18-year-old.
“No one expected that. Uneven bars and bars, she’s always particularly good at them. She was the first on the machine, so she had to present. You have to have nerve. She’s a real competitive type,” praised Frehse. Where can it actually go with Malewski, who wants “to the top”?
“We have to wait and see how things develop. If she is healthy, she will compete in the World Cup in Liverpool. Maybe she’ll make it to the final again. I hope she continues on her way,” said Frehse. The World Cup will take place from October 29th to November 6th. But before that, there will be a lot of celebrations. Since Monday on a one-week vacation in Sicily, on September 10th there will be a gold reception for Malewski at TuS Chemnitz-Altendorf.
