Olympian McKayla Maroney hospitalized for ‘severe pain’ as ‘abuser’ coach John Geddert is charged and kills himself
OLYMPIC gold medal gymnast McKayla Maroney on Thursday shared she was hospitalized after “throwing up” with “severe pain” - on the day her alleged sexual abuser was charged and shot himself dead.
Maroney, who was on the champion 2012 United States Olympic team, posted a photo of the Benjamin & Carmela Du Emergency Pavilion in Orange County, California, on her Instagram story in the morning.
She also shared an image of herself in a hospital bed and explained what happened.
“Tuesday I was throwing up all day, with severe pain in my back and stomach," she wrote.
"Had to come to the ER at 3am because pain kept getting worse, and I couldn’t stop throwing up.”
Maroney, 25, wrote that her CT scan showed he had a few kidney stones.
She did not specify what treatment she would need.
Kidney stones are hard deposits of minerals and salts that can naturally pass through the body through the urinary tract, but may require surgery or other procedures.
Maroney won the Olympic gold as part of the US team nicknamed the “Fierce Five.”
She also won an individual silver medal on the vault and became infamous for her reaction to the award during the ceremony.
Maroney stood on the podium with her lips twisted to the left and her expression was deemed “not impressed.”
It became one of the viral images of the year and Maroney recreated it while visiting then-President Barack Obama at the White House.
Maroney retired as a competitive gymnast in 2016.
She has since appeared in television programs including Hart and Dixie and Bones and has also acted as herself in other shows.
Maroney was hospitalized on the same day that her Olympic coach John Geddert killed himself after she made sexual assault allegations that he was connected to.
Geddert died on Thursday afternoon of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, hours after being charged with two dozen crimes including sexual assault, human trafficking, lying to a peace officer and racketeering.
Maroney claimed that she was in a car with Geddert on an international trip in 2011 and said that disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar had touched her inappropriately the previous night.
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Geddert did not react to Maroney’s claims, passengers in the car said, and then denied overhearing her remarks.
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The coach for the Fierce Five was accused of recruiting minors - gymnasts he worked with - into forced labor, according to East County court documents.
In 2016, Geddert was accused of lying to investigators when he denied hearing complaints about Nassar, who is serving decades in prison for sexually assaulting female athletes.