British Gymnastics chairman Mike Darcey has written an open letter to members saying the organisation is "deeply sorry" for ignoring the abusive culture in the sport.
In February, a group of 17 former gymnasts -- including three Olympians -- served a "Letter of Claim" on the national governing body, alleging physical and psychological abuse from coaches.
The allegations in the lawsuit include "inappropriate use of physical force by coaches against gymnasts constituting physical assault."
In March, an interim report into allegations of physical and emotional abuse revealed that nearly 400 submissions were made to the independent review, with 39 cases referred to statutory authorities.
Darcey released a statement on the issue on Tuesday which read: "As we reflect on some great moments from the Olympic Games in Tokyo, we also need to acknowledge that, alongside gymnastics growing rapidly over the last decade, our organisation has, on several fronts, failed to keep up with that growth.
"The board has taken stock over recent months. It is evident that the executive team and the board have failed to be close enough to the gymnastics community to understand your concerns, and our engagement with those raising concerns has not been good enough.
"We have let you down, and we are deeply sorry for that. While we acknowledge that there is much good practice within the sport in the UK, we must make it clear to the whole membership that abusive practices including training on injuries, bullying, shouting, and weight shaming are not acceptable.
"There is increasing awareness of such practices in gymnastics, including globally. The independent Whyte Review has been commissioned by UK Sport and Sport England with Terms of Reference aimed at providing recommendations for improvement and change. We welcome this review.
"We must do better to ensure there is no place for abuse in our sport. We are determined and committed to change within British Gymnastics and it is not necessary to wait until the Whyte Review reports to start to do that."
After the allegations were initially made public last year, British Gymnastics chief executive Jane Allen stepped down from her role and was replaced by Sarah Powell in June.
"The board understands the anger felt within the community," Darcey added. "This has been a very difficult period for the sport. We know that trust will not be earned simply by announcing these changes -- trust will only be earned with consistency of action over time.
"Working with the executive team, we are focused on delivering for you and are committed to fundamentally changing the culture at the heart of British Gymnastics to ensure that there will never be an excuse for poor behaviour in gymnastics at any level."
British athletes have come forward over the past year following allegations of abuse in gymnastics in the United States.
Larry Nassar, who served as USA Gymnastics women's team doctor for years, used medical treatment as a guise for molesting hundreds of young athletes. He was sentenced to 40 to 125 years in prison in 2018.
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