The Tragic Story of Christy Henrich (A Gymnastics Tragedy)

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Christina "Christy" Renée Henrich was an American artistic gymnast. Her death from anorexia nervosa at age 22 led to major reforms in the way women's gymnastics is covered on television and in the news media.
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[@gsdmom1194]

I was a gymnast during this time period and a little before. That was sometimes a culture. Our coach had weigh-ins. I was 5' and had to weigh 80lbs. There were girls on my team that would purge, I instead would go several days without eating. Instead of teaching us about proper nutrition or good eating habits, we just had to weigh a certain amount. I still have issues with not eating for several days. I love gymnastics but am sad that adults hurt young girls in the many ways they did.

[@wintersprite]

I’ve heard that it’s sometimes the same for ballerinas.

[@user-xd2ml8dn9h]

I was also a gymnast at and before this time. I was lucky I had a supportive mom, I began young eating healthy and exercising, when puberty hit and my body filled out I was terrified I would be seen as fat by my coaches and when they made a comment about my belly being a little bit too big I literally told them where to shove their criticism. I knew I was working on it and they wanted to demand I fast, and I told them I wasn't going to be forced to starve, force vomit or take any diet pills. I knew it wasn't healthy and it was at that point I left the sport

[@electrum310]

When somebody makes a disrespectful comment about your physical appearance strike back immediately.

[@gloriaf4015]

This is an unrealistic expectation for a child in most contexts. Particularly when the insult comes from an adult (to whom most people expect kids to tolerate all manner of abuse under the guise of being “respectful”) and one who is in charge of her whole career. Sports and specifically gymnastics are rife with ideology that normalizes body shaming. The other adults around her should have protected and comforted her. But folks are too willing to overlook abuse for a win.

[@amandamorgan2802]

Just another casualty of gymnastics... May that judge's conscience torment him or her,forever ! That person destroyed her and she was so talented and secure in her movements. Maybe not the only factor,but it contributed greatly to her ' demise'. But as I said- Yet another casualty of gymnastics..

[@surlywithfabshoes]

It just goes to show that one terrible or back-handed ‘compliment’ can completely change the trajectory of a perdon’s life. And for every criticism, it takes many confidence boosting comments to turn in around, if it can be done at all. You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, as it was before you squeezed it.

[@AuliaAF]

When "somebody" meets the media, it becomes several thousands "somebodies." Not to mention that it was comment from "respectable" figure, that many would consider as a rule or at least esteemed suggestion in sport worlds. Weight in sport is always a toxic discussion, with boxers dieing and runners trying to halve their weights .

[@ollieenger1424]

Why? That just shows them they got to you…their intent!

[@janetmiller2980]

There was nothing wrong with Christy Henrich before she lost weight. Rest In Peace 🕊️ Christy

[@lyoness6]

It is a huge problem, even today. When I was a gymnast in the 70s (artistic) and 80s (rhythmic) our weight was strictly controlled. When I was nine I grew two inches and gained half a pound in the same time period and was told to lose the weight. My first diet was at nine years old. The dreaded number was 100. If you weighed more than 100lbs you were done. I remember a coach yelling at me because he saw me eating a popsicle one day and a chocolate bar on another - weeks apart. It was horrific and I've struggled with ED's all my life. I swore I would never let my child be a competitive gymnast and I haven't.

[@wintersprite]

I never did sports outside of gym class but still developed some body image issues from starting puberty earlier than most of my female classmates as well as the double whammy of being big on top (I finally had a reduction last year as it was causing physical as well as mental symptoms).

[@angelabordack]

It should never be this way but it was back in the 80’s and 90’s. R.I.P.

[@rhondawalker2020]

How horrible! She was losing muscle mass. Muscles weigh more than fat. Sad 😔

[@wintersprite]

It’s actually that muscle is more dense and takes up less space than fat. One pound of muscle and one pound of fat will both weight the same (one pound), but just like one pound of feathers and one pound of rocks, they will look quite different and one will take up more space than the other.

[@Chameleon-wq4ul]

I think this is even bigger problem in rhythmic gymnastics, especially in elite countries. I remember I once saw a videoclip where a Russian rhythmic gymnast said she was not allowed to participate in a training because her weight was 100 grams above allowed.

[@janetmiller2980]

I remember International Gymnast magazine in the 80s listing athlete heights and weights. Rhythmic gymnast Alexandra Timochenko was listed as "5'4', 88#. ?!?!?! That's messed up.

[@tracym5368]

Thanks for using my suggestion. I don't know of a sadder case!!!!!

[@kris78787]

Poor girl 💔. I too have suffered with anorexia and it's horrendous. People really need to be careful what they say to others

[@CJ-mn6iw]

I hope those words haunt that judge everyday.

[@amandamorgan2802]

She was not even fat.Sturdy and strong yes.

[@secretgarden3555]

So sad, that other persons do this to young girls. I had a best friend who wanted to become a ballerina. She was really good at it, but she grow up to fast and her carreer wasn't possible at the end, because she went to tall. She was so sad about it and never found a new connection to healthy sports ore movement in her youth.

[@user-ml5yw8tf8b]

I was in high school in the early 80's. The weight and body acceptance culture was so negative toward girls. This is when I developed anorexia and bulimia and I suffer to this day. Things have changed so much since then.

[@cynthiahoggatt6911]

Wow so young😢

[@ErinWalker-je4vw]

It was very sad 😢 what happened to her. I remember hearing about that. I was angry 😤 at the judge who said that.

[@CharliesDaughter]

unfortunately this is extremely common in ballet, as well

[@Lastfirst333]

Who was this judge?

[@janiestla5945]

Terrible. Grown adults can sometimes be more cruel than children. It is so wrong that in some sports, models, celebrities, and such, that females especially are pushed in this direction.

[@janetmiller2980]

It's stories like this one that make me glad I quit gymnastics (should never have asked to start it, but that's another story). My daughter learned some tumbling, but I'm glad I never signed her up for ballet or rhythmic gymnastics, either. Disordered eating and messed up body image nobody needs.

[@Anne_B.]

This Sadly jas existed for a long time in many female sports disciplines. Ballet and gymnastics ate amongst the worst. The mentality that slimness equates better needs to stop. It took probably one of the biggest promises out with Kaitlyn Ohashi and Simone Biles has gone in to prove that muscle is power

[@sheagaier7582]

I have eating disorders too. The wrong comment will trigger me

[@cynthiahoggatt6911]

Ppl are mean smh

[@AstraVPlays]

Awful. Simply awful

[@joanm9839]

Horrible. RIP. 🙏

[@rg1whiteywins598]

But she wasn't really suffering from being overweight. It didn't seem to effect her ability. But there are gymnasts who would benefit from losing weight, but it needs to be dealt with in a proper manner. Like saying something like... Losing five pounds and building upper body strength could really help such and such skills.... It's also a shame when an actual weight issue is the limiting factor for a gymnast's performance and nobody cares about it. The judge didn't say that to destroy this girl, but how she saw the comment.

[@shawnie2084]

Are you a former competitive gymnast? Or a female athlete in general? Women are pressured to be a certain weight/ size and it's even worse for women athletes, with the added pressure of having their weights and heights readily available. If you look up most any women athlete right now if their weight isn't shown in their brief bio/ info blip then it's one of the first things that's under "people also search for". And the fat shaming is constant, even for fit competitors. An authority figure telling a young woman that she's fat/ unfit is more often than not detrimental to both her physical and emotional health no matter how constructively it's given, especially back then when nutrition wasn't a priority, just size.

[@syrinx114]

The judge who told her this had no business talking to young women about their bodies or their weight. Even back in the 80’s, people knew about psychology. They knew about eating disorders. They knew about depression. It wasn’t the Middle Ages. This judge was insensitive and was talking to her like she was an object, not a person.

[@brandiecrisp8385]

She was not overweight at all, even in the gymnastics world. When that comment was made, Christy weighed less than 100 lbs.