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Annika Schleu at the Olympic competition
Photo: IVAN ALVARADO / REUTERS
The modern pentathlete Annika Schleu is considering doing without her social media activities in the future after the riding drama at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
“I'm almost ready to say that it is more important to me to cope with it mentally than to generate sponsors.
I don't want to have to expose myself to this hatred, ”said the 31-year-old in an interview with“ Die Zeit ”.
"Once you've experienced something like me, it's very difficult to recover from it."
The hatred that she was shown on social media superimposed the disappointment about the missed medal.
She felt humiliated by the pictures that showed her crying on the horse.
After finishing fourth at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, Schleu missed a medal in Tokyo because the horse she had been given refused to ride.
After two disciplines, the athlete was still on the gold course.
Schleu remained without points in the riding and finished 31st in the end. Schleu and national trainer Kim Raisner had to take a lot of criticism for their behavior during the competition.
»Hit it right!
Raisner had shouted to Schleu, clearly audible on television.
The visibly overwhelmed athlete then hit the horse with her whip in tears.
Raisner was then excluded from the Olympic Games.
"I am really not aware of any cruelty to animals"
Schleu does not want this behavior to be understood as animal cruelty.
“I didn't treat the horse extremely harshly.
I had a crop with me that was checked beforehand.
Just like the spurs.
I'm really not aware of any cruelty to animals, ”Schleu said.
But she also said that she might have said earlier, "okay, it just has no value".
Schleu was disappointed with the reaction of the German World Federation President Klaus Schormann: »The World Federation definitely left me alone.
Klaus Schormann hasn't even spoken to me, I only know the press releases. «
World association wants to deal with events
The Berliner had previously left open whether she would also take part in the Games in Paris in three years after her Olympic participation in London in 2012, Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo.
The World Federation of Modern Pentathlon (UIPM) announced in a press release that it would "subject the event to a" complete review ", taking into account" the importance of horse welfare and the safety of athletes throughout the global structure of competition. "
mfu / dpa
