Britain’s most decorated Olympian, Charlotte Dujardin, has withdrawn from the Paris Games after a video emerged showing her “making an error in judgement” in a training session.
The dressage rider, who won three Olympic gold medals, including two in London in 2012, was scheduled to compete in individual and team events. in France at the end of this month.
Referring to the video, the Team GB athlete said what happened was “completely out of the ordinary” and “does not reflect how I train my horses or train my students”.
But she said “there is no excuse” and was “deeply ashamed” and “sincerely sorry”.
Dujardin, 39, said she was being investigated by the International Federation of Equestrian Sports (FEI) and would “withdraw from all competitions – including the Paris Olympics – whilst this process takes place”.
The British Equestrian Federation and British Dressage were also investigating, she added.
In a statement on her Instagram, she said: “A video from four years ago has surfaced that shows me making an error in judgment during a coaching session.”
She continued: “What happened was completely strange and does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my students, however there is no excuse. I am deeply embarrassed and should have set a better example at that time.”
Dujardin, who also won two gold medals at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, said she was “sincerely sorry for my actions” and was “devastated to have let everyone down, including Team GB, fans and sponsors”.
Mrs. Dujardin with her Olympic gold in individual dressage at London 2012. Photo: Reuters
Rider will ‘fully cooperate’ with investigations
“I will cooperate fully with the FEI, British Equestrian Federation and British Dressage during their investigations and will make no further comment until the process is complete,” she continued.
At the 2012 London Olympics, Dujardin won gold medals in individual and team dressage, while in Rio, in 2016, he won gold in the individual competition and silver in the team event.
Later, at the three-year-postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she won bronze in both the team and individual competitions.
Dujardin won a total of six Olympic medals in her career, making her Britain’s most decorated female Olympian of all time, tied with retired cyclist Dame Laura Kenny.
Read more on Sky News:
French deputy says Israeli athletes are “not welcome” at the Paris Olympics
Tom Daley displays cardboard beds in Paris Olympic Village
Mrs. Dujardin celebrates winning gold in individual dressage at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Photo: Reuters/Action Images
Ms Dujardin started walking at two years old
According to the Olympics website, Dujardin was born on July 13, 1985 in Enfield, north London, but was raised in Hertfordshire and started cycling at the age of two.
She was 13 when he first tried dressage, a discipline in which rider and horse must complete a series of complex movements such as tempi, zigzag, piaffe and pirouettes.
Coming from a modest background but competing in an expensive sport, she bought her first Grand Prix horse, Fernandez, in 2007 thanks to money left by her late grandmother.
It was at this stage that he began to practice dressage competitively, having previously aspired to be a jockey.
Keep up with the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The equestrian events at the Paris Games “will showcase the partnership between horse and rider in three distinct disciplines: jumping, dressage and full eventing,” the Olympics website states.
The events will take place from July 27th to August 6th, with individual and team medals for each discipline.
Jumping features timed obstacle courses, while dressage involves horse and rider performing artistic movements to music. The sporting event, comparable to an equestrian ‘triathlon’, combines dressage, jumping and cross-country.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
