The Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame is reviewing the status of gymnastics coach Elvira Saadi.
Saadi, a 2009 inductee into the hall of fame and co-owner of Dynamo Gymnastics in the city, was handed a lifetime ban from Gymnastics Canada last month for "maltreatment and abuse" of several athletes she coached.
"We've reached out to Gymnastics Canada for a detailed description of their decision and are in communication with other sports halls of fame to see what policies and practices they've used when dealing with this type of issue," Dave Menary, co-founder and communications director of the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame, said.
"We have no policy that directly addresses this kind of situation but will be drafting one once we have all necessary documents and information."
Saadi, a two-time Olympic gold-medallist for the Soviet Union and 2009 inductee into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, has coached Olympians Yvonne Tousek, Crystal Gilmore and Madeline Gardiner, along with Victoria and Brooklyn Moors, the daughters of former Dynamo co-owners Chris Moors and Lisa Rutledge.
Tousek, Gilmore, Gardiner and Victoria Moors are also members of the Cambridge hall of fame.
The list of complaints and violations found by the Gymnastics Canada Disciplinary Committee and its hired external investigator, LeeAnn Cupidio, were that Saadi routinely weighed athletes and made negative comments about their weight in order to "motivate" them and tried to manipulate her athlete’s energy level, weight, eating and drinking habits by restricting their food and water intake and encouraging the use of supplements, at times as an alternative to food.
It was also concluded Saadi had trouble keeping her emotions in check, was known to instill fear and used her power of authority to threaten athletes ambitions of the Olympics and medals, among other complaints.
Sanctions levied against Saadi included a 10 year suspensions from coaching, judging, officiating, content development, volunteering and membership on Gymnastics Canada’s committees or boards.
When the 10-year ban is complete, the now 71-year-old Saadi will be allowed to return to training coaches but only under strict conditions that involve having no direct contact with athletes.
As for next steps with the hall of fame, it will continue to gather information before reaching a conclusion on what to do.
"At that time we will also reach out to Elvira to discuss our contemplated next steps," Menary said.
"No decision will be taken until we have completed our own due diligence."
When contacted by CambridgeToday, Dynamo Gymnastics had no comment and couldn't elaborate on the last time Saadi had been in the facility.
