Australian equestrian criticised for wearing mankini costume will be allowed to compete in Paris Olympics
File photo of Australian equestrian Shane Rose.
Three-time Olympic equestrian medalist from Australia Shane Rose will be allowed to compete in the upcoming Olympics in Paris after he was stood down from competition for wearing an orange mankini at a closed event in Wallaby Hill in Robertson earlier in Feb. In a statement, Equestrian Australia said on Monday (Feb 19) that it concluded its review after public concerns were raised about Rose, 50.
"The Equestrian Australia Review Panel met on Monday and found that Mr Rose did not breach the code of conduct at Wallaby Hill on 11 February," the statement said, adding that Rose apologised for his conduct.
Rose was a silver medalist in the team taking part in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a bronze medalist at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and a silver medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The incident
On Feb 11,Rose took part in a fancy dress competition at the Wallaby Hill Extravaganza. According to Australian media, he wore three costumes that day- a gorilla suit, a Duffman beer suit and the G-string swimsuit made famous in the film Borat.
A complaint was registered with the EA over the Olympian's attire. On Sunday, the EA said that Rose was stood down from competition for several days while the review was being carried out.
"This does not affect his ability to train or otherwise participate in the sport," the governing body said.
Following the review, the EA said on Monday, "Having now thoroughly reviewed the incident and spoken to relevant parties, Equestrian Australia has confirmed that there was no breach of the code of conduct by Shane Rose."
“We take the recommendations on board and will move quickly to ensure the relevant actions are taken," it added.
'We can all move on'
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Rose said, "With a bit of luck this will all be a bit of a laugh in a few days and we can all move on."
"For my sake, I am hoping I have done nothing too bad because I have an important competition in the next few weeks," he added.
(With inputs from agencies)