Kaylia's story just shows the incompetence of the French federation, its over-inflated ego and its inability to admit its mistakes and question itself.
It all starts with a conflict between the club in Avoine, where Kaylia has been training since the beginning, and the French federation, which accuses the club's coaches of mistreating and controlling its gymnasts. A 2-year investigation led to the case being dismissed. Despite this victory for the Avoine coaches, the federation still refuses to allow the Avoine gymnasts to be monitored by their coaches in competition or during national training camps. This is notably the case for Carolann Héduit, a member of the Liverpool Worlds team, and Elena Colas, our new French prodigy who has a great chance of winning the European title next May. Elena Colas has even floated the idea of competing for Portugal if her coaches are not allowed to be on the floor with her, as some of her grandparents are of Portuguese origin.
Coming back to Kaylia, she had to undergo surgery for osteochondritis. Following her rehabilitation, her sports doctor and surgeon authorized her to resume training on all four apparatus. However, the federal doctor refused to allow her to take part in national training camps and competitions, claiming that she would be endangering her health. What's more, as part of their Olympic preparations, the French federation demanded that all gymnasts likely to make the team train together in Paris. Kaylia and the other gymnasts from Avoine, who felt they had good training conditions and were close to family and friends, refused to go to Paris. Kaylia found herself in a no-win situation, unable to compete, unable to represent France and unable to hope to take part in the Olympic Games. The Avoine coaches warned the French federation that they were depriving themselves of a gymnast capable of competing with Nina Derwael. The federation laughed and didn't take them seriously.
Unfortunately, they'll just have to bite their fingers off! It's a terrible mess!
