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Olympic cycling star Sir Bradley Wiggins has said he feels “liberated” after revealing he was sexually abused by his coach between the ages of 13 and 16.
While backing an NSPCC campaign to help identify victims of child sexual abuse, the Tour de France winner spoke boldly about preparing for, getting over cycling and why he wouldn’t change his past.
The 42-year-old five-time Olympic gold champion achieved his life’s ambition in 2012 by winning the Tour de France, becoming the first British cyclist to do so.
However, along with the pressure that followed to repeat his success, and an injury that dampened his ambitions, Wiggins realized that cycling had in fact acted as a form of escape after he was sexually abused by his coach when he was a child. Teen.
Olympic cycling star Sir Bradley Wiggins has said he feels “liberated” after revealing he was sexually abused by his coach between the ages of 13 and 16.
Wiggins told Men’s Health UK magazine: “I was groomed by a trainer when I was younger, around 13, and I never fully accepted it.”
After Wiggins made the revelation that he was prepared in an interview with Men’s Health columnist and former Labor adviser Alastair Campbell last year, a change began to occur within him.
Talking with him Expressthe athlete said: ‘I feel liberated… which is a wonderful thing to feel.’
The father of three made the decision to speak more about his grooming experience while leading a new NSPCC campaign to help people spot signs of child abuse.
‘Listen Up, Speak Up’ prompts adults to complete a 10-minute online tutorial to help them understand how and when to sound the alarm if they believe a child is in danger.
It comes as the charity reported a 14 per cent increase in calls to its helpline from adults about sexual abuse concerns.
Wiggins spent much of her life trying to understand her relationship with her father, Australian cyclist Gary Wiggins, who left the family when Bradley was young and died in 2008 after a fight.
“If someone had told me after I stopped riding that in a few years this is what you’d be doing instead of TV and game shows, I wouldn’t have believed them,” Wiggins revealed.
“It’s funny how things turn out and a lot of it has to do with where you are in your life. This is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done because it’s a very humbling subject for me and many people, and also a tragedy.’
Speaking about whether he has undergone therapy to help with his trauma, Wiggins said: “No, I’m my own therapist, no one knows what’s going on inside my head.”
I haven’t gotten to that point yet. I would be open to it, and a lot.
The exact details of what Wiggins endured remain unclear because, like many trauma victims, the star “wiped it out of her memory.”
“It has to do with memory,” he said. She is coming out slowly. I can’t even say how many times it happened to me. I can only remember parts of it.
A photo of a young Bradley Wiggins. Taken from Wiggins’ autobiography ‘Bradley Wiggins – In Pursuit of Glory’
Wiggins was shocked last year when he learned that one of his former coaches, Sean Bannister, told a newspaper that Wiggins had “always had doubts” about another coach.
Until that point, Wiggins said she had no clear recollection of asking an adult for help.
“That was harder to accept than coming out.” [the abuse]’ he said, ‘he had tried to tell someone. He didn’t know she had.
The abuse began after Wiggins discovered cycling at age 12. He had seen Chris Boardman win individual gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics on television and was inspired to follow in his footsteps.
Sir Bradley Wiggins (left) with his son Ben Wiggins during day one of the HSBC UK National Track Championships at Geraint Thomas National Velodrome, Newport
His childhood absent father was six- and seven-day runner Gary Wiggins, who died of head injuries suspected of being violently inflicted after leaving a party in his native Australia in 2008.
First revealing his abuse to the world, Wiggins told Men’s Health UK magazine: “I was groomed by a trainer when I was younger, around 13, and I never fully accepted that.”
Asked if he was sexually groomed, Wiggins added: ‘Yes. It all impacted me as an adult… I buried it. My stepdad was pretty violent with me, he used to call me bad for wearing Lycra and stuff, so I didn’t think I’d be able to tell him.
‘It was so lonely… I just wanted to get out of the way. I became so isolated. I was a pretty weird teenager in a lot of ways and I think bike riding came out of adversity.
In his 2008 autobiography, In Pursuit of Glory, Wiggins wrote about how his mother Linda’s new partner, Brendan, became his “almost stepfather” when he was a teenager and was “totally supportive.”
Wiggins previously spoke about suffering from depression and his difficult childhood.
He added that he spent much of his life trying to understand his relationship with his father, who left the family when Wiggins was young.
However, the athlete believes that he would not have achieved the remarkable success that he does if he had enjoyed a happy and stable upbringing.
“I wouldn’t change a thing,” he said. ‘The important thing if these things happen to you is what you do next. And as much of the legacy that I left behind in cycling, what I do now for the next 20 years is just as important.’