Former Olympic gymnasts suspended by SafeSport over abuse claims

January 13, 2025 / Athletic Administration

Two former Olympic gymnasts have been banned from coaching due to alleged abuse of young students.

The US Center for SafeSport suspended Anna Li, 36, from all USA Gymnastics-affiliated coaching for nine months and her mother Jiani Wu, 58, for a year. Wu’s husband, Yuejin Li, 66, is on probation for nine months and will continue running their Legacy Elite gym in Illinois.

SafeSport found a ‘preponderance of the evidence’ that the trio physically and mentally abused young gymnasts for many years.

There were no claims of sexual abuse, like those against former Olympic coach Larry Nassar, which prompted SafeSport to be established to investigate abuse claims.

A recent report from The Daily Mail detailed the abuse claims from students of the two former Olympians. Below is an excerpt from The Daily Mail article.

Wu is a former Chinese Olympic medalist and former USA Gymnastics national team coach and Li a former US national team member and eight-time UCLA All-American.

Li and Wu were suspended after an almost six-year investigation of complaints to USA Gymnastics that were made public in 2019.

Both they and the parents of the abused gymnasts complained about the length of the probe, which SafeSport boss Ju’Riese Colon admitted ‘simply took too long’.

At least 15 people filed complaints and SafeSport compiled about 50 witnesses, but other gymnasts and parents said they didn’t report abuse or stopped cooperating because the agency was unresponsive.

Others said they feared Li would badmouth them to universities, or mark them down when judging national or regional competitions to harm their careers.

SafeSport found the gymnasts and their parents were ‘credible in their retelling of their experiences at the gym’ and provided photos to back up their claims.

‘Their accounts were corroborated by other witnesses, and independent retellings of the same, pervasive issues were given to the center.

‘For the most part [Li and Wu] all denied the allegations… and provided information in an effort to discredit claimants and their parents.’

The SafeSport notice of decision, released on Wednesday, and complaints by parents submitted to it, detailed the shocking abuse.

Li once screamed at one girl to ‘get your fat ass over the vault’ and told her ‘You’re too fat to get over the vault’.

Riley Milbrandt, one of the gymnasts who went public about the abuse she suffered, was once pushed by Wu while doing a handstand and fell onto the balance beam.

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Another time, when the coaches were dissatisfied with her performance, she was forced to stand against a wall for two hours.

Wu told the other gymnasts they too would face that punishment if they spoke to her.

To read the full story from The Daily Mail, click here.