Dutch gymnast Yuri van Gelder has been sent home after partying too hard in Rio.
Van Gelder, also known as the “Lord of the Rings”, was apparently celebrating having made the finals in the individual rings apparatus on Saturday. According to a news release on the Netherlands Olympic Committee’s website, he left the Olympic Village Saturday night, not returning until Sunday morning. He admitted he consumed alcohol during his night out.
The finals aren’t until Monday Aug. 15, so he may have thought he had lots of time to recover.
But his team didn’t think so: van Gelder’s behaviour was “unacceptable” according to Dutch Chef de Mission Maurits Hendricks. Although it was a difficult decision, he said, such behaviour is contrary to the norms and values of the team and could not be tolerated. So, they sent him home.
This isn’t the first time van Gelder’s hard-partying ways have gotten him in trouble: he was caught using cocaine in 2009, and a year later admitted to having used it again.
Since being sent home from Brazil, van Gelder has been mocked on Twitter under the hashtag #LordoftheDrinks.
Comments