One of the best American gymnasts of the past decade has revealed that she walked away from the sport as a result of Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse.
Mattie Larson unleashed on the pedophile doctor in court on Tuesday, recalling the horrific assaults she was forced to endure starting at the age of 14 while she attended the Karolyi Ranch in Texas to train at the national camp.
She also revealed that a USA Gymnastics representative was in the room while she was assaulted by Nassar, before calling out Martha and Bella Karolyi alone with Nastia Lukin’s father Valeri for fostering an atmosphere that allowed Nassar to thrive.
It all became too much for Larson, who revealed she stepped away from the sport in 2010 shortly after trying to give herself a concussion by purposely falling on the bathroom floor in a bid to skip training at the national camp.
Soon after she walked away from the sport at the age of 18, despite having just won the national title in floor exercise and earning second in the world at that apparatus.
‘Larry, I can’t even put into words how much I f***ing hate you,’ said Larson at one point.
‘There is another way. A healthy and supportive way to make champions.’
Emotional moment: Mattie Larson (above) revealed that she was one of the victims who was sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar in court on Tuesday
Monster: ‘Larry, I can’t even put into words how much I f***ing hate you,’ said Larson, who was the national champ on floor exercise back in 2010 (Nassar in court on Tuesday)
‘Larry, my coaches, and USAG, turned the sport I loved into my personal living hell,’ said an emotional Larson.
She then talked about first attending the national camp in Texas, where at the age of 10 she would call her parents sobbing to come home.
‘I dreaded having to go back every single time for the next 9 years,’ said Larson, whose experience only got worse at 14 when she began being abused by Nassar.
That abuse continued until she left the sport, and occurred every time she saw the pedophile doctor.
Larson said that when she dislocated both ankles Nassar did not wrap them, but instead assaulted her while her friends watched TV oblivious to what was going on behind them.
She then named Debbie Van Horn as the individual who was present for her assaults by Nassar.
It became clear to Larson that there was only one way out at that point.
‘I was taking a bath when I decided to splash water on the floor and bang my head as hard as I could on the tub so it looked like I slipped,’ she told the court.
‘I thought injuring myself was the only way I could get out of going to camp.’
It worked, and when she returned, Martha Karolyi mocked her for being unable to overcome her injury.
‘You know, Kim Zmeskal fell out of the bunk and still came to practice the next day,’ said Martha, who then ignored her for the entire camp.
Valeri Lukin was also part of this mistreatment, with Larson noting: ‘I had never felt so small and disposable in my life.’