The first swimmer to speak publicly about abusive practices in the sport said she was proud of the “brave” athletes who had shared their stories to change a culture of fear.
Phoebe Lenderyou battled bulimia for five years after extreme criticism and humiliating weigh-ins by coaches.
A review found extreme competitiveness led to an “ongoing and systemic” toxicity at all levels of the sport.
“All I want is for the children of today to love swimming,” she said.
Phoebe, a Commonwealth youth gold medallist, said speaking to the BBC in February 2023 about her ordeal had been “daunting and scary”.
“It was a very well-known but taboo issue that nobody who I ever swam with had mentioned,” she said.
Phoebe, of Newcastle, was contacted by more than 100 swimmers following the article who shared their own stories, as well as parents and coaches.
Swim England later apologised to those who had endured bad experiences and commissioned the independent review.
Its damning conclusions found a “performance first” attitude prevalent throughout the sport was put above all else, regardless of whether swimmers were suffering physically or mentally.
Earlier this week double Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington said she had witnessed abusive practices and that she had been lucky to have a coach who “saw me as a human being first”.
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