A leading Australian equestrian’s build-up to a fourth Olympics was thrown into disarray Sunday after he was stood down from competition for wearing a ‘mankini’ swimsuit during a showjumping event.
Three-time Olympic medallist Shane Rose wore the skimpy fluorescent orange outfit – popularised in the movie “Borat” – on his horse during a competition near Sydney last weekend where riders were encouraged to wear “extraordinary costumes”.
Rose, 50, said on social media he had been stood down by governing body Equestrian Australia (EA) while it conducts a review after receiving complaints.
“I am truly sorry if I have offended anyone,” Rose said on Facebook. “I hope that the result of the EA review allows me to return to competition and not affect my campaign towards the Paris Olympic Games.”
Equestrian Australia said in a statement that “as with any high performance athlete, Shane is bound by the High Performance and Equestrian Australia Codes of Conduct and Athlete Agreement”.
“Equestrian Australia has an obligation to address these concerns and is currently reviewing the matter,” it said.
“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.”
Fellow three-time Olympic equestrian Vicki Roycroft told local media it was “a massive overreaction” from Equestrian Australia.
“I saw the pictures and thought it was funny,” she said. “Clearly it was intended as a joke and I cannot imagine who could have been offended.”
Six-time Australian Olympic dressage rider Mary Hanna told the Sydney Daily Telegraph: “Please EA, don’t do this to Shane.”
Rose won team eventing silver medals at the 2008 and 2020 Olympics, and a bronze at the 2016 Games.