In the Athlete A documentary there are many excerpts from recordings, which were also used in At the Heart of Gold, but they are two films that can be seen separately, each with segments that you pay more attention to, making them complementary.

The Athlete A in the title is Maggie Nichols, one of the young gymnastics victims of sexual abuse. She and her family reported the abuse to the people in charge and instead of being protected, they were ignored and damaged the girl's sports career.

The film strikes powerful blows and points to the network of accomplices who looked the other way when they received reports of abuse, physical, emotional and sexual, not just by predator Nasser. It also points to the more than fifty-four coaches who were singled out for complaints by many gymnasts that they had been abused.

USA Gymnastic had a policy for handling allegations of abuse. They do not inform authorities or open an investigation for verbal complaints, they must be written and signed by the parents. So, all the complaints they received from gymnasts over the years were filed and forgotten

It is horrible to imagine that behind all the joy we see, when they win some medal, in addition to all the physical sacrifice they make, many came to be abused, within an organism that has the duty to provide them with protection.

Other silent accomplices are the marriage of the Károlyi. After defecting from Romania, they settled in the United States, where they established their training techniques, managing to make the gymnastics team win many medals in the Olympics.

The documentary explains two important changes in the sport. When the U.S. team begins to make a name for itself in the Olympics, large amounts of money, from major brands, enter the sport. The other important event was when Romania's Nadia Comaneci, trained by the Károlyi, won gold at the Olympics. Before her, gymnasts were adult women, but later it became clear that athletes had to start at an early age.

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Statements by Maggie Nichols , on the importance of this documentary:Link

This film coincides with the other documentary, which in the ranch where they train, is governed under a strict dictatorial system against the girls. Creating an atmosphere of fear, something that predator Larry Nassar took advantage of, to be kind to the girls, to gain their trust, to be their friend, to manipulate and abuse them.

The documentary provides the point of view of the journalists who investigated the allegations and published the report that would be the beginning of the end of more than 29 years of Larry Nasser abusing with impunity.

It was following the article published by the Indiana Star, which prompted Rachael Denhollander to file a criminal complaint against him. Even one of the journalists who worked on the reports was surprised, when he realized that the victims' stories, many from different periods and not known to each other, coincided in all the details.

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Article on the documentary and the case, I recommend reading:Link

Trailer

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