Gilles Beyer (1957 – 19 January 2023)Morto l'ex allenatore Gilles Beyer, accusato di stupro
was a French competitive

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

and coach. He was the 1978 French national champion and competed at six ISU Championships. He was accused of sexually abusing students when they were minors.

Career

Beyer competed at three

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

and three

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. In the 1977–78 season, he won the French national title and finished within the top ten at the 1978 European Championships in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

. After retiring from competition, Beyer focused on coaching. His students included: *

Laëtitia Hubert Laëtitia Hubert (born 23 June 1974) is a French former competitive figure skater. She is the 1997 Trophée Lalique champion, the 1992 World Junior champion, and a two-time French national senior champion (1998–1999). She competed in four W ...

Laurent Tobel Laurent Tobel (born 24 June 1975) is a French former competitive figure skater. He is the 1998 Nepela Memorial champion, 1995 Czech Skate bronze medalist, and 1999 French national champion. In the same season, Tobel achieved his career-best I ...

Sarah Abitbol Sarah Abitbol (born 8 June 1975) is a French former competitive pair skater. With skating partner Stéphane Bernadis, she is the 2000 World bronze medalist, the 2000 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a seven-time European medalist (two silve ...

Beyer was the general manager of the figure skating division of

Français Volants Français Volants is an ice hockey team in Paris, France. They are currently playing in FFHG Division 2, the third level of French ice hockey. History The club was founded in 1933 by Jacques Lacarrière, a French ice hockey player. Volants regu ...

in Paris. In January 2020, Français Volants announced Beyer's immediate removal from any role at the club. From 2014 to 2018, Beyer was a member of the executive bureau at the

French Federation of Ice Sports French Federation of Ice Sports (or French Ice Sports Federation; french: Fédération française des sports de glace or ''FFSG'') is the national governing body for a number of ice sports in France. It manages completely different sports discip ...

(FFSG).

Allegations of sexual abuse of minors

Figure skating coach Didier Lucine wrote a letter in February 2000 to the

(FFSG), expressing concerns about Beyer's behaviour around young students. In the early 2000s, Beyer was the subject of two investigations, one in Créteil and the second at the French ministry of sports. The latter resulted in Beyer's removal from his position as a technical adviser on 31 March 2001.

said that she spoke about Beyer with

Jean-François Lamour Jean-François Lamour (born February 2, 1956, in Paris) is a French former fencer and current politician and cabinet minister. During his fencing career, Lamour achieved various athletic accomplishments, notably qualifying for the 1987 world cha ...

when he was France's sports minister (2002–04); in a 2020 interview, Lamour said that he did not recall the conversation. In January 2020, two former students accused Beyer of sexually abusing them when they were minors. Hélène Godard said that he had sex with her when she was 13 and 14 years old. Abitbol recounted her experiences in her book ''Un si long silence'', stating that he had raped her multiple times beginning when she was 15. Beyer admitted "intimate relations" with Abitbol and stated: "Although my memories of the precise circumstances differ from hers, I understand that, given my functions and her age at the time, these relations were in any case inappropriate." In January 2021, Beyer was charged with sexual assault by a person in authority and sexual harassment by a person in authority, relating to complaints filed by six former students. The cases of Godard, Abitbol, and a number of other past students could not be prosecuted due to statutes of limitations.

Personal life

Beyer's wife, Katia Krier, is a French figure skating coach and the deputy national technical director.

Competitive highlights

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beyer, Gilles 1957 births 2023 deaths French figure skating coaches French male single skaters Figure skaters from Paris