'Hot' and 'unsafe': Former Iowa State coaches, gymnasts pan shuttered program's facility
In the summer of 2014, Iowa State gymnastics recruit Sydney Converse attended a camp the Cyclones' coaching staff hosted at the team's on-campus practice gym. Several other recruits were there, too, including some who had already committed to Iowa State. Converse, then an incoming high school senior who went on to compete for Iowa State from 2015 to 2020, remembers feeling excited to meet her future teammates and see Iowa State's facility for the first time.
But the day began on a devastating note when Converse witnessed one of her future teammates, Meaghan Sievers, vault into the foam pit, land on the concrete bottom and break her ankle. "She was never able to do gymnastics the same," Converse said. "She couldn’t stick landings the way she used to be able to, and it definitely affected her career the next four years.
" Former Iowa State head coach Jay Ronayne remembers that day well. "It was shocking and devastating," he said. "It was terrible.
" Most modern gymnastics pits, which are filled with foam blocks to absorb shock when gymnasts land, have trampolines or thick vinyl mats a few feet from the bottom as safety cushions. Iowa State's pit had a cement bottom with no additional protection. Sievers required ankle surgery before her collegiate gymnastics career even started.
She told USA TODAY Sports Network that her injury was a symptom of a larger problem. “The examples of the facilities only scratch the surface of the issues that we faced over the years and only provide a physical example of these things," Sievers said. "They don’t even touch on the many ways that leadership and personal interactions failed us over the years.
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