Even the day after the Corona shock, Isabell Werth was stunned and appalled. “It’s really unbelievable,” said the most successful rider in the world about the concealed Covid disease of the British dressage rider Gareth Hughes. It was “incomprehensible” that the colleague ridden sick and then also appeared at the award ceremony: “There is no respect for the others.”
After more than two years of the pandemic, it is hard to believe that the competition and the world association FEI only found out about the infection at the press conference after the World Cup team competition. British team-mate Richard Davison made Hughes’ infection public on Sunday evening and said when asked after his team’s silver medal: “He has Covid.”
Dennis Peiler, head of sport at the German Equestrian Federation FN, said the following morning: “We were flabbergasted. We were completely surprised.” Werth reported about her teammate Frederic Wandres: “Freddi was really shocked, he congratulated him and hugged him.”
“We all stood close together,” said the nine-time world champion about the award ceremony on the podium, she didn’t hug Hughes herself. The 53-year-old from Rheinberg added: “I’ve already experienced a lot, but that’s really strange.”
The German delegation at the Dressage World Championships in Denmark will not protest despite the ride of the corona-infected Briton. “No, we won’t do that,” said team boss Klaus Roeser of the German Press Agency. “That’s not our style, it’s decided in sport.” Without the result of the infected Hughes, the Brits would not have finished second behind Denmark in Herning on Sunday evening, but Germany would have. Sweden would have won bronze.
Roeser criticized the British rider’s actions as a “human disappointment”. FN sports director Peiler commented: “That was a gross foul game.” He said: “You don’t send an infected athlete into the competition. That has nothing to do with a sense of responsibility.”
The infection only came about because Hughes, who was ill, was absent from the press conference. A spokeswoman for the British team then said: “According to the applicable laws, he does not have to be in quarantine.” All the rules were observed. “He kept his distance from everyone,” she claimed. The procedure had been agreed with the organizer.
The FEI only found out “during the press conference following the medal ceremony” that Gareth Hughes had tested positive for Covid,” said a spokeswoman on Monday.
