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Gymnastics - VISA Championships

Source: Icon Sports Wire / Getty

Former Team USA gymnast Mattie Larson admitted that she resulted to inflicting bodily harm on herself in order to avoid contact with Larry Nassar.

On Wednesday, Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for seven counts of criminal sexual misconduct, The New York Times reports.

Larson, 25,  gave a stirring testimony on Tuesday detailing the years of abuse she suffered at the hands of Nassar, who is accused of sexually assaulting over 160 women while serving as the primary doctor for Team USA’s gymnastics team. 169 women have given written testimonies–out of that number, 156 read their statements in front of Nassar in court, according to CNN.

Larson walked away from competing in 2010 at the age of 18 after she tried to force a concussion by falling on the bathroom floor in order to avoid training, the Daily Mail reports.

“I was taking a bath when I decided to splash water on the floor and bang my head as hard as I could on the tub so it looked like I slipped,” she said.

At the time she held the national title in floor exercise and ranked second in the world in the category.

“No matter what Larry was supposed to be treating on me — usually ankles or knees — his fingers always seemed to find their way inside me,” Larson said during her testimony, according to ESPN.

Nassar was previoulsy sentenced to federal prison for 60 years on child pornography charges, and awaits a third sentencing after pleading guilty to three charges of criminal sexual conduct.

Larson is also calling on House Speaker Paul Ryan to pass revised legislation which would require stiffer mandates for U.S. amateur athletic organizations to report alleged abuse.

SOURCEThe New York Times, ESPN, Daily Mail, CNN

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