Dutch Gymnast Yuri Van Gelder Expelled From Rio Olympics For Drinking

Yuri van Gelder reached the men’s rings finals in gymnastics on Saturday but sadly, the Dutch gymnastic star’s time in Rio has come to an end.

Dutch Gymnast Yuri Van Gelder Expelled From Rio Olympics For Drinking

Just hours after reaching Saturday men’s rings finals, van Gelder, 33, admitted to consuming alcohol during a night out to supposedly meet his Brazilian girlfriend. Thus, the former world champion — nicknamed the “Lord of the Rings” — was forced to depart the Athletes’ village.

The Dutch gymnastics association, KNGU, and the Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC-NSF) said in a joint statement that van Gelder had “gravely violated” team rules and that they had “no other choice” but to put him on the first plane home.

“It was a very difficult decision,” chef de mission Maurits Hendriks said in a statement on the KNGU website. “It’s terrible for Yuri, but this sort of behavior is unacceptable.”

Hendriks admitted the departure of the former world champion and triple European champion on the rings was “a bloodletting” for the Dutch team.

Nevertheless, he emphasized that “our athletes are role models.”

Van Gelder is not yet willing to comment on his premature exit from the Games, however.

“Yuri can’t and doesn’t want to respond to the situation,” said a statement on his website. “He wants to process the events in a closed environment and will make a statement after that. When he will do that, is not yet clear.”

A hugely talented athlete who was named Dutch Sportsman of the Year in 2005 for winning the rings world title, van Gelder has caught himself in trouble several times since.

He tested positive for cocaine use in 2009, which cost him a spot on the Dutch Olympic team for the 2012 London Games and ended his career in the Dutch army. This also led to a suspension from his sport for a year.

The gymnast told Dutch television last month that his out-of-control past was over and that he was now “older and wiser.”

After spending 11 weeks in a rehab clinic in Edinburgh, Scotland, his return to competition was disastrous. The gymnastics union withdrew van Gelder from the 2010 world championships for “relapsing” just four days before the event.

His former coach, Remi Lens, told De Telegraaf newspaper on Tuesday that van Gelder is “sensitive to the use of stimulants,” and that “the staff of the Dutch Olympic team should have known that.”

The veteran gymnast qualified for the Rio Games in April, though he has now been overshadowed on the Dutch team by Epke Zonderland, the reigning Olympic champion on the horizontal bar, who is nicknamed the “Flying Dutchman.”

There remains strong support for van Gelder on social media, with scores of fans criticizing the Dutch team for being too severe in its punishment.

Nevertheless, the gymnast has now acquired another nickname: “Lord of the Pints.”

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 26: Yuri Van Gelder of the Netherlands competes on the rings during the Apparatus Finals of the 2005 World Gymnastics Championships at Melbourne Park November 26, 2005 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Dadswell/Getty Images)