Telford gymnast Charlie Fellows in favouritism row

Charlie Fellows believes the sport’s national governing body should have selected her in the five-strong women’s team, particularly as two of its stars, Claudia Fragapane and Amy Tinkler, were late withdrawals.

The 21-year-old Park Wrekin member, who has now retired, said she was told she would be considered for selection if there were injuries and her third-place finish in the all-around competition at last month’s British Championships, as well as a silver on the uneven bars and bronze on the floor, had led many to believe she would be the next on the plane.

British Gymnastics, however, picked 15-year-old Taeja James. The 15-year-old was a British junior champion last year and beat Fellows by one place in the floor competition at last month’s nationals.

Speaking to a national newspaper, Fellows said: “Not only me but other people think I should have been in the team. I have nothing against the girls who were selected but I had beaten some of them in the British Championships.

“I felt like I’d proved myself. British Gymnastics had no reason not to take me. I think it’s definitely favouritism.”

A fortnight after her three-medal display in Liverpool, four-time Olympic medallist Louis Smith tweeted his support for Fellows saying if she “isn’t in the Commonwealth Games team there’s been an injustice”. In a statement, they said they have ‘robust selection processes and policies in place to ensure fairness and to maximise the potential for success at international competitions’.

It explained that the decisions on injury replacements were made with the 2020 and 2024 Olympics in mind. Furthermore, it said, Fellows did not appeal against her original non-selection and the British Championships was not a designated selection event, as it came after the February cut-off.

Fellows, however, also claimed she was repeatedly criticised for being too big and too heavy during her time with the British squad.

“There was definitely too much emphasis on how you look. I got told I was big and too heavy to do gymnastics and I needed to lose weight,” she said.

British Gymnastics rejected this claim, too, saying it works with leading sports scientists to provide world-class specialist advice and support to its elite gymnasts.

According to The Guardian, Fellows’ mother has made a complaint to British Gymnastics of presiding over a ‘culture of fear’ and leading her to believe that if she postponed her retirement she had a chance of going to the Gold Coast Games.