Britain’s joint-most decorated female Olympian, Charlotte Dujardin, has pulled out of the Paris Games after a video emerged showing her “making an error of judgement” in a coaching session.
The dressage rider, who won team and individual golds at the London 2012 Games, had been set to compete in both the individual and team events in France this summer.
Referring to the video, Ms Dujardin said what happened was “completely out of character” and “does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils”.
But she said “there is no excuse” and she was “deeply ashamed” and “sincerely sorry”.
Ms Dujardin said she was being investigated by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports and will “withdraw from all competition – including the Paris Olympics – while this process takes place”.
British Equestrian Federation and British Dressage were also investigating, she added.
In a statement on her Instagram, she said: “A video has emerged from four years ago which shows me making an error of judgement during a coaching session.”
She added: “What happened was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils, however there is no excuse. I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example in that moment.”
Ms Dujardin said she was “sincerely sorry for my actions” and was “devastated that I have let everyone down, including Team GB, fans and sponsors”.
“I will cooperate fully with the FEI, British Equestrian Federation and British Dressage during their investigations, and will not be commenting further until the process is complete.”
At the 2016 Rio Games she won gold in the individual dressage and silver in the team event, while at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 she claimed bronzes in both the team and individual competitions.
Ms Dujardin has won six Olympic medals in her career, making her Britain’s joint-most decorated female Olympian with retired cyclist Dame Laura Kenny.
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Source Agencies
