Olga Korbut — Forced To Sell Olympic Medals After Soviet Sexual Abuse
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Olga Korbut shook up the International Olympic Committee when she sold off the medals that made her a star — after being one of the first Olympic gymnasts to expose the sick sexual predators exploiting innocent aspiring child stars!
Photo credit: Getty/AllSport
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The struggling Soviet gymnast put her seven medals on the auction block for a grand total of $183,300. It was a sad ending for the honors that made Olga a worldwide sensation at the 1972 Munich Olympics. In a further disgrace, the international community is gloating over how the former Soviet Union poster girl — now living in Arizona — was broke!
Photo credit: Getty Images
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One headline out of Russia declared: "Medals saved Korbut from hunger." But in a tragic twist, the Olympic honors are also a reminder of Olga's physical and sexual abuse! Olga (seen here with Nadia Comenica and Mary Lou Retton) revealed her shocking secret to The National ENQUIRER — exposing how her cruel Soviet coach had seduced her to satisfy his sick desires!
Photo credit: Getty/AllSport
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The legendary gymnast named coach Renald Knysh, saying that he plied her with liquor before leading her into an abusive sexual relationship. "He came up to my room with a bottle of cognac and forced me to drink several glasses," recalled Olga. "What came next was a terrible memory that lasted several years."
Photo credit: Getty Images
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Olga was unable to protest, either — being a national treasure under an oppressive Communist regime. "I would come home covered with bruises," Olga recalled, "and lie that I had suffered a fall." She also revealed that Knysh was a controlling presence who wouldn't allow her to see other boys — even as she grew older: "I was 18, 19 years old and wanted to meet boys, but Renald had such control over my life that it was impossible."
Photo credit: Getty Images
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Knysh — who Olga said regarded his students as "not just as potential gymnasts, but future concubines" — denied Olga's charges, saying that she had once "threatened to publish a book in which she would portray me as a sadist." Olga did eventually publish a tell-all entitled "My Story," but continued to suffer hard times.
Photo credit: Getty Images
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The worldwide star was even arrested on shoplifting charges in Atlanta in 2002 for swiping tea and cheese. Olga still told The ENQUIRER that speaking out about her brutal past had changed her life: "It was awful to keep such a secret. Now I have spoken about it, and I am free."
Photo credit: Getty Images
Olga Korbut shook up the International Olympic Committee when she sold off the medals that made her a star — after being one of the first Olympic gymnasts to expose the sick sexual predators exploiting innocent aspiring child stars!
Photo credit: Getty/AllSport
The struggling Soviet gymnast put her seven medals on the auction block for a grand total of $183,300. It was a sad ending for the honors that made Olga a worldwide sensation at the 1972 Munich Olympics. In a further disgrace, the international community is gloating over how the former Soviet Union poster girl — now living in Arizona — was broke!
Photo credit: Getty Images
One headline out of Russia declared: "Medals saved Korbut from hunger." But in a tragic twist, the Olympic honors are also a reminder of Olga's physical and sexual abuse! Olga (seen here with Nadia Comenica and Mary Lou Retton) revealed her shocking secret to The National ENQUIRER — exposing how her cruel Soviet coach had seduced her to satisfy his sick desires!
Photo credit: Getty/AllSport
The legendary gymnast named coach Renald Knysh, saying that he plied her with liquor before leading her into an abusive sexual relationship. "He came up to my room with a bottle of cognac and forced me to drink several glasses," recalled Olga. "What came next was a terrible memory that lasted several years."
Photo credit: Getty Images
Olga was unable to protest, either — being a national treasure under an oppressive Communist regime. "I would come home covered with bruises," Olga recalled, "and lie that I had suffered a fall." She also revealed that Knysh was a controlling presence who wouldn't allow her to see other boys — even as she grew older: "I was 18, 19 years old and wanted to meet boys, but Renald had such control over my life that it was impossible."
Photo credit: Getty Images
Knysh — who Olga said regarded his students as "not just as potential gymnasts, but future concubines" — denied Olga's charges, saying that she had once "threatened to publish a book in which she would portray me as a sadist." Olga did eventually publish a tell-all entitled "My Story," but continued to suffer hard times.
Photo credit: Getty Images
The worldwide star was even arrested on shoplifting charges in Atlanta in 2002 for swiping tea and cheese. Olga still told The ENQUIRER that speaking out about her brutal past had changed her life: "It was awful to keep such a secret. Now I have spoken about it, and I am free."
Photo credit: Getty Images
