Germany's modern pentathlon coach has been disqualified from the Olympics for punching a horse during the women's event earlier this week.
German modern pentathlon coach disqualified for striking a horse
The equestrian round brought much controversy during the women's modern pentathlon on Friday, after several front runners were eliminated from contention by the unpredictable nature of the round.
Competitors do not compete on their own horse, but rather on a randomly assigned horse. Ireland's Natalya Coyle was one of those who was unlucky with their horse, but German competitor Annika Schleu struggled immensely atop Saint Boy.
Schleu led the pentathlon going into the equestrian round, but had her medal hopes slashed by a disastrous round, where her horse refused several jumps. Her coach, Kim Raisner, could be heard shouting at Schleu to "really hit" the horse, and it has now emerged there was more to it than that.
German broadcasts picked up coach Raisner punching the horse above the leg. The UIPM (the worldwide governing body) released a statement today confirming that Raisner has been sent home from the Olympics as a result of the incident.
Her actions were deemed to be in violation of the UIPM competition rules, which are applied to all recognised modern pentathlon competitions including the Olympic Games.
The UIPM Executive Board [EB] has given a black card to the Germany team coach Kim Raisner, disqualifying her from the remainder of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The EB decision was made today at the Tokyo Stadium before the resumption of the men's modern pentathlon competition.
The German men's team are in action as the men's modern pentathlon draws to a close on Saturday, but Raisner will play no part. Neither will the horse, Saint Boy, who is not one of the horses being used for the men's event.
We have to say, a coach being sent home from the Olympics for punching a horse is a bit of an unusual story, but even the German team themselves have accepted that it is the right call.
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