Dutch gymnast sent home from Rio after night of drinking
Netherlands gymnast Yuri van Gelder has been expelled from the Rio Olympics by his national committee, .
The 33-year-old, former world champion, is said to have gone out celebrating on Saturday night after qualifying for the final of the men’s rings event.
Dutch Chef de Mission Maurits Hendriks said in a statement that, "It's been a very difficult decision for us to take...but this behavior is unacceptable. That does not belong to participation in the Olympics or any sporting event whatsoever...Yuri has left us no choice. "
Van Gelder has previous in this regard, having been suspended from competition in 2009 for his use of cocaine three days prior to the start of the national championships.
#Proost #YurivanGelder #LordoftheRings #LordoftheDrinks #Rio2016 EXIT #TeamNL pic.twitter.com/Ac64bqP9Tg
— Marco Gomez 🍀 (@Marco111267) August 9, 2016
Dutch media has latched onto the story referring to the gymnast, whose nickname is ‘Lord of the Rings’, as ‘Lord of the Drinks’.
