Dispute after horse drama: "This veterinarian has absolutely failed"

After the Olympic drama about the modern pentathlete Annika Schleu, the scenes from Tokyo with the shy horse, the weeping athlete and the lost gold medal led to the first consequences and blame.

National coach Kim Raisner was excluded from the rest of the Olympic Games on Saturday because of her behavior in the situation.

The German president of the world association UIPM, Klaus Schormann, made the veterinarian jointly responsible and reacted irritably to the demands that quickly arose for an adjustment of the rules.

Schleu had the best chance of a gold medal on Friday. Her loan horse refused to show jumping. The 31-year-old athlete burst into tears and desperately used the crop. With the words “Hit it right! Hit it! ”She was asked to do so - clearly audible on television - by her trainer. Both then faced massive criticism. "I knew that pictures would go around the world that would not be beautiful, but I did not expect some kind of shit storm or so much negative hatred," Schleu reported to the German press agency.

Because Raisner had also hit the loan horse Saint Boy with his fist, according to the UIPM, she was excluded from the Olympic Games on Saturday one day before the closing ceremony.

"Your behavior was seen as a violation of the UIPM competition rules," said the association.

"That's all nonsense"

DOSB President Alfons Hörmann had previously announced the decision that Raisner would no longer have a role in the men's competition.

The decision was made amicably after a meeting with Schleu, Raisner and Susanne Wiedemann, sports director of the German Association for Modern Pentathlon (DVMF).

The disqualification by the world association, on the other hand, was learned from social media, Wiedemann reported to the German press agency. “We have not received any official notification. We weren't heard, and neither was the trainer. "Schormann contradicted this a few hours later:" Of course she was informed. We are in constant contact. That's all nonsense. The situation was so clear. "

The official saw the vet as guilty. "This veterinarian has absolutely failed", he said after the end of the men's competition, in which the two German starters Fabian Liebig and Patrick Dogue did not get past places 19 and 20. "When I see something like that, I can't let go of a horse like that," said Schormann. Saint Boy had previously refused the participant from Russia three times. According to the rules and regulations, a change is only provided for subsequent riders after four refusals; Raisner's application for a change was rejected.

Beijing Olympic champion Lena Schöneborn reacted irritated to the statements of the national coach. "I can't understand the sentences," she said of the "picture". The emotional tension is massive, but that is no excuse, so the pentathlete, who won gold in 2008. The association "Athletes Germany" assured Schleu support. "The hostility and the partly open hatred that she has faced in the social networks since yesterday's equestrian competition is unacceptable and must be strongly condemned," the organization announced on Saturday.

The DVMF demanded an adjustment of the riding regulations. "Corresponding changes have already been worked out and proposed to the world association (UIPM)," announced the association. Schöneborn also sees possible adjusting screws in the regulations. "One possibility would be to draw the horses to the pentathletes one day in advance," said the 35-year-old on ARD. This step would change a lot. "We have not been in this situation before, we have not yet been shown so drastically that it is actually a mistake in the regulations." The current competition regulations allow the athletes only 20 minutes before the ride to compete with the drawn horse to familiarize.

Schormann resisted the criticism. “It is very clear to us: You don't have to ask us to think about the rules. We do that all the time, ”he said. A new format has already been decided for the games in Paris in three years. “We have been revising the rules for the past three years and have long since put everything that is being criticized on paper. But we are only allowed to change our set of rules every four years, this is stipulated in the statutes. We had to apply the rules we have here, ”he said.

The DVMF wants to take the time to come to terms with what has happened. However, the umbrella association strongly opposes that an athlete is insulted and insulted personally. The association wants "a constructive and objective debate about the modern pentathlon", it said in the message.