Featured image credit: Press Association
After the result of years of training in and out the gym and suffering from too many blisters to count, securing a place in an Olympic final in gymnastics is something to be proud of.
Losing it after an alcohol-fuelled binge in the host city is even more of an achievement.
Advert
That's exactly what happened to a Dutch Gymnast in Rio who has been expelled from competing as punishment from his drunken antics after securing his place in the rings final.
Even though the rings final is not until August 15, Yuri van Gelder broke the team's code of conduct by leaving the Olympic village on Saturday night (nine days before the final) and celebrated his achievement by getting on the booze.
The 33-year-old lad returned back to the village in the early hours of Sunday morning (still eight days before the final) but his team were not happy and nursing a hangover was the least of his worries.
The three-time world championship medallist's spot in the rings final was taken away and will now go to French gymnast, Danny Pinheiro Rodrigues.
Donned now as the 'Lord of the Drinks', this isn't the first time Gelder has come under fire for substance abuse in his career. In 2009, he was suspended from the Dutch Gymnastics Union for taking cocaine three days before the national championships.
Advert
In 2010, the rebel gymnast withdrew his position in the World Championships after admitting using cocaine.
I wonder if Rodrigues is planning on buying a pint for the Dutch-shamed athlete who is now out of contention for an Olympic rings medal.
Words: Hamish Kilburn
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Fail
