Three-time Olympian Shane Rose has been stood down from competition after wearing a mankini at a fancy dress showjumping event near Sydney.
The 50-year-old Australian has won three Olympic medals in showjumping and is hoping to compete at the games in Paris this summer.
Trouble For Olympic Athlete At Showjumping Event
As part of the event, competitors were encouraged to wear fancy dress, with Rose also sporting a Simpsons Duffman outfit and a gorilla costume.
According to reports, the complaint was issued due to children being present at the event.
"Whether it is one [complaint] or 1,000, we have an obligation to review it," Equestrian Australia chief executive Darren Gocher said.
A further statement from Equestrian Australia said the following:
To be clear, Shane has not been suspended or sanctioned.
As is usual in these circumstances for all high performance athletes, he has been stood down from competition for several days while the review is carried out.
This does not affect his ability to train or otherwise participate in the sport. Equestrian Australia has also encouraged Shane to provide an account of the events if he wishes to do so.
🏇 Combiner concours d'obstacles et slip borat ? Shane Rose, triple médaillé olympique australien, l'a fait. Et ça pourrait lui coûter cher puisque sa fédération songe à l'écarter pour les JO 2024... pic.twitter.com/UeHonRlZtw
— RMC Sport (@RMCsport) February 18, 2024
Ross addressed the issue in a now deleted Facebook message, but spoke to the Sydney Morning Herald as well.
“I took part in this fancy dress competition with the aim of providing light-hearted entertainment for those in attendance," he wrote on Facebook.
“If my costume/s offended anyone I am truly sorry as this was never my intention. I would like to apologise to anyone that I offended.”
“With a bit of luck this will all be a bit of a laugh in a few days and we can all move on,” he said in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I wore a costume which you could see at a theme park or a beach. Potentially no-one has done it on [a] horse, but there you go.”
“I think I am a good person and I do a lot for the sport, and for people in different situations. I don’t feel like I have done anything particularly bad,” Rose added. “In hindsight, I should have rethought what I did but, at the time, I thought it was just a bit of fun.”
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