The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters

This book exhibits a great behind the scenes of elite gymnastics and ice skating of issues such as eating disorders, training and competing through injuries, body image, pressure from parents and coaches, etc. This book is a great read if you are a fan of either sport although it depicts a bit of a negative and stereotypical picture for both sports, times have indeed changed and have become better with respect to coaching and caring for athletes.

I totally HATED this book. All Joan Ryan talks about is how gymnasts and figure skating are abusive, bad sports. Well, I have NEVER been told in gymnastics to lose weight, or to keep focusing on winning. I love the sport, and Joan Ryan seems to be despising it. Also, Joan Ryan talks about the same things over and over again, AND HER MAIN FOCUS IS GYMNASTICS!. I don't reccommend it to any one involved in gymnastics or figure skaters. I agree with everyone who hates the book.

I found this book engrossing and enlightening. I am a huge gymnastics fan and while I am not so naive to think it's an easy sport, it's eye-opening to read all that is given up by these young girls. I think alot of the blame has to lay on America's shoulders. Until we can place more value on these children than winning, nothing will really change.

I am a 12-year-old elite gymnast, in training for the 2012 Olympics!

Here are some amazing things in this book.

Did you know that a young gymnast called Adriana was murdered by her coach?

It does not, however, tell the story of Australian gymnast Sophie Gilligan, who at 13 looked 6. An Olympic prospect at age 13, but she was turned down by the olympic selectors because she was too young. Her obese stage mother told the tiny, 66-pound Sophie off. Later that day, the depressed, sad Sophie beat both her mother and her cute, chubby 4-year-old sister Molli to death, then committed suicide. She was a great and promising gymnast, and we lost her.

My daughter particpated in the gymnastics sport for about 10 years and it was a great experience. She loves the sport and still maintains a great relationship with her ex-coaches (right, Cindy! ) They were and are her family, they saw her grow up and they coached her and loved her...and I will always be greatful for that! One day she decided to retire from the sport to try new things and it was NOT the last day that she went to the gym....AT was her home away from home...I think that Joan should have done a little more research before stating how horrible is for EVERYONE...it should have been a personal opinion and as many of us know... parents have a lot to say on the matter... I LOVE GYMNASTICS!

I am a 14 year old gymnast and i think this book is a horrible depiction of most gymnastics clubs around the country. Yes, in the early years of gymnastics, lossing weight and stunting growth was very common, but, come on now, we live in the 21st century! Look at such gymnasts Bogenskia and Korkina, they are 5'4 and 5'6 and still win competitions. And Kim Zemeskal is certinly not a little pixie and is still winning competitions to this day! And, it's a fact that gymnastics helps build bone density because of the pressure of tumbling. And, on one last note, Kerri Strug was NOT forced to do the final vault in the Olympics, she wanted to, for the team. Ask n e gymnast about the pro's and con's of the sport and they'll tell u the only bad part of the sport is being sore!

As a former gymnast, I could not put this book down. Ryan told so many un-told stories. Must read if you are considering pushing your child to the "next level". Well done Joan Ryan. Excellent book.

I believe that Joan Ryan has no right to comment on elite gymnasts and figure skaters unless she, herself is invovled with elite sports herself. The way she disrespected Bela Karolyi was immature and disgraceful.

As a former gymnast and big fan of figure skating, I was drawn to this book. Although I read the book about 5 years ago when it was first published, I can still remember some of the chilling details that hit eerily close to my heart. A must for anyone who is considering high level sports for their children, or anyone who is slightly interested. The personal stories of horror make this a page-turner!

I know that many gymnasts are anarexec, but that is just that happens in gymnastics.

It is sad, but you must be thin and small to be a perfect gymnast, and they will just keep getting smaller, thinner and younger. I am twelve, but I have reached puberty, so I will never be the ideal gymnast.

MAny gymnasts do not fit the mould of tiny thin and light. I mean when i was only ten, i was ideal, at four feet and six inches and probably 52pound sprite. But now I have grown to 4feet 10 inches and about 108 pounds, so I will never be able to be what i was when i was ten.

It is sad that the womanly, graceful gymnasts are not considered good as the tiny, tumbling pixies. But that is just how gymnasyics. Soon, 8-11 year old gymnasts will be big names, like nz gymnast Lily West, junior New Zealand champion at age 9.

Now, gymnastical girls are coming in as young as 9-10 years. They are tiny, maybe 36 pounds at 10! And they are thin and flat chested. Because that is the ideal gymnast.

This book is insanity and completely biased! I am currently 14 years old and have been involved in gymnastics since the age of 2. I have learned so many lessons and so many things about people and life itself from this sport. I am more coordinated in other sports now and I understand important morals such as hard work and setting goals. I weigh 130 pounds and am 5'5". I eat regularly. My coach never once told me to lose weight. While a few gymnasts have had horrible experiences, Ryan attacks gymnastics/figure-skating alone when extreme pressure occurs in all sports, not just the minority of gymnasts that Ryan so biasedly overviews here. Gymnastics is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

This book delves into the "dark side" of sports. Along with all of laughter, also comes the heartache. Any parent that has a child that is getting serious with his/her sport should read this book so that they don't fall into the easy trapfalls that these parents and kids did.

I was elite level in gymnastics and I never found any of my coaches the way Mrs Ryan describes them here. I actually know people who have the coaches mentioned in this book and as far as I know they haven't been hurt or injured by the coach. I dispise this book and she needed to talk to those who have the brighter side of gymnastics and ice skating both. Not all coaches in the sport are tyrants...even at Olympic level!

When i read this book i was thinking....What???
I think its a little off...no, i believe its WAY off.
I dont think Ryan has any right to put these people down...people who have put their lives into this b/c they wanted to. NOT b/c someone made them. what does she know anyway?
I'm not here to write horrible things about this book, but i think it has blown the world of elite gymnastics way out of proportion.
not everyone is anorexic or bulemic.
i agree with the person who said this is a "waste of paper"
I dont think this book gives gymnastics a fair chance:(

As a young figure skater myself, I find this book quite exploitive. It puts a negative view on the training we go through. Try jumping a couple feet in the air when you are over weight. It doesn't work that way. And I for one (along with my skater friends), don't starve ourselves, we just eat healthy. My mom would KILL me if I didn't eat. Not all mom are like that; not all push their daughters to the brink of death (figureatively). If they are, they need to re-asess their values.

As with most scandalous exposes, this book needs to be taken with a grain (alright, more like a pound) of salt. What Ryan does is take a few isolated incidents and transforms them into the norm, which creates great a shock-factor for an entertaining read, although little journalistic substance. If you want a captivating and easy read, then this book is for you. However, please realize that Ryan's primary motive in writing this book was to sell copies, and not to present an accurate view of gymnastics and figure skating (both of which I have been involved very deeply for many years).

Thanks for reading. =)

The author makes some valid points, but what I think Ms. Ryan is missing is that "poor Kerri Strug," by being "forced" to do a vault with a hurt ankle, ended up becoming the hero of her country, and an instant celebrity. Yes, gymnastics and skating (although I would argue much more so gymnastics) can be put a LOT of pressure and expectations on young girls (boys do these sports too, btw), the price if one is successful can be profoundly rewarding; and sports, as every athlete will tell you, leads to self-discipline and greater confidence.

I think that every sport, by their nature, places incredible pressure on competitiveness and fitness... young boys train hours a day to be in local football leagues, for example.

I found the book to be a bit melodramatic, and not necessarily objective in its take on the benefits that athletic training can provide. At the end of the day, would Kerri Strugg or Kristi Yamaguchi rather be unknowns, working a 9-5, or beloved champions due to hard work and perseverance???? Exactly.

Joan Ryan gave a very one sided opinion of gymnastics, gymnastics is not child abuse! Ryan just gave the ugly side of the sport without showing the good side such as: strength, flexibility, and grace. You could take any other sport and show the ugly side of it. Gymnastics has a lot more pros then it does cons!

This is the best figure skating book i have ever read ! no one realized how much presure there is for sk8ers and gymnasts to be soo thin they could just break and ugh itz terrible !! READ THIS BOOK ITZ AWESOME!

as a mother to a 5 year old gymnast i was shocked to find out 5 year old elite gymnasts spending 5 hours a day in the gym! this is an eye opener. i would not want my daughter to be an olympian after reading this book! i read the whole thing in one day. it was a real page turner!!

So I didn't actually want to read this book, but had to for a class I was taking...

It was great! Absolutely loved the book!!!

Gave me a lot of insight into a very competitive gymnast friend of mine :)

Joan Ryan has no right to criticize Gymnastics when she has never been a Gymnast herself. I'm 11, and I started Gymnastics at age 3, and Ive never regreted my career. Yes, I have to stay thin. But Joan Ryan should try and do a back flip when she's overweight. Can't be done. As for training with injuries, yes, Gymnasts have to train with injuries because otherwise it's just wasting time. I'm aiming to be at the olylimpics by age 15, and if I don't train hard, my chances are lessened. Also, my parents didn't force me to become a Gymnast; I chose my career myself. My parents are supportive without being pushy, and I am grateful that I started Gymnastics. If it hadn't been for those years of hard work, I wouldn't be where I am now. I have gotten so much out of Gymnastics, and if I had not started Gymnastics, I would be quite a different person. I want to write this to defend my sport. It is obvious that Joan Ryan is completely biased in her approach to Gymnastics, and she has never been a Gymnast before, so what right does she have to publish three hundred pages of lies about a beautiful, worthwile sport? It is all rubbish and completely dramatized so we believe her lies. I believe that Gymnastics is a great gift for life, and the struggle is how you make it. Struggle is the only way you make it to the top in any career, not just Gymnastics. I think Joan Ryan is just jealous of elite Gymnasts and so she makes up these stupid lies to convince herself that Gymnastics is bad. So she finds fault in what she cannot have. This is a naive approach to Gymnastics, and she implies that the parents of elite Gymnasts are all evil. My parents do push me to win, sure, but they only want the best for me and my career. And my coach is far from the evil maniacs described in this book of bunkum. How can Joan Ryan lump together all elite Gymnasts! And how dare she call Gymnastics, 'legal, even celebrated, child abuse'!!!!! Working hard is not abuse. Gymnastics teaches the virtue of being hardworking and disciplined, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Shut up, Joan Ryan. You're just telling big fat lies.

Not all elite gymnasts are forced through child abuse! Christy Heinrich was just one gymnast! Heidi Geunther was just one ballet dancer! Anorexia isn't that prevalent! This book was really unfair, especially to those who compete in gymnastics and actually know what they are talking about, as I know. Gymnastics is a wonderful sport, and people should not always think of gymnasts as darling little girls abused unti, they get a gold, because its not like that.

This book makes me utterly ill. Has Joan Ryan ever been an elite gymnast? NO!! So therefore, why does she think that she has the right to write a book about a subject in which she has no experience. I think that she's just a sick, sick person, and everybody who says that this book is good, you'll are sick pepole, too.

Olivia was eleven. she wanted to be a gymnast so she was watching olga Korbut live at the olymips she noticed that Olga Korbut was skinny and perpurspent at 36kg .but olivia had breasts and hips and was plump at 120 pounds but she wanted to be a gymnast but if olga changed gymnastic she could not join, because the sport would be for tiny skinny preprubesnt girls aged 13-15 that they would stary gymnastics at age3,4,5,6,. It would be too late for Olivia sha hd to stop olga so she ran onto the floor and olga's feet plummeted into her fat stomach and Olgs Korbut was mad and she jumped on Olivias tummy and olivia felt allhot and sick she rubbed her sore tummy but she sicked all over the floor and since olga jumped and upset olivia's tummy she also had diarea as she was sicking.

and that is the story of how olivia missed her chance at the olumpics and lots of other girls too

i think this book sucked because it implys gymnasts are to thin. Well, it's not easy to do a backflip with a big plumpshery tummy flobbing around. YU HAVE TO BE THIN!!! AND GYMNASTS' DIETS ARE NOT ABUSIVE!!! they are only NECESSARY so the Gymnasts don't get all soft and flabby. and Gymnasdtics teaches disiplin, which you dont find in flobby fat people. im a gymnast whos 10 and i cant think of ANYTHING bad about Gymnastics. Huh!

I do not think this book true about gymasts. Gymansits is healthy. Because I know. because I havea been a gymnast since age 4. And I am not too skinny either. My coach has never said, "Aiuka, lose weight" I am 5 ft tall and weigh 70 pound. I have been gymnast 10 years. But Jaon Ryan says that gymnasts are subject to eating disorders. Staying healthy is not disordered eating. The higher up you go, the skinnyer the Gymnasts are, because they are seruis. A girl called Holly who is now 15 she said she wasn't going to lose weigh even though her belly hung down obvously. so she did not get far. She ended up bringing our team down. So we poked her and told her she needed to lose weight, but this was reasonable