German track and field star Alica Schmidt appears to be caught up in some drama within her team at the Paris Olympics.
Schmidt, nicknamed “the world’s sexiest athlete,” was selected to compete in the mixed 4x400m relay, with the German team coming in seventh place and eliminated in the qualifying round last Friday.
The result was less than satisfactory for teammate Luna Brumman.
On social media, Brumman, 24, seemed less than pleased with the decision to place Schmidt in the second heat of the event.
“Yes, I am the second fastest runner in the 400m on paper, and no, I am not nominated for the mixed relay,” Brumman wrote. According to The Sun.
No messages are currently posted to her Verified Instagram account.
Ms Buhlmann’s boyfriend, the German sprinter Jean-Paul Bredau, also competed in the second race and appeared disappointed that she was not selected.
“Not everything had gone perfectly beforehand so the energy just wasn’t there,” he told The Sun.
“Some decisions were made that not everyone agreed with. DLV [German Athletics Association] We clearly stated that the four fastest people should run. But a different decision was made.”
No messages are currently being posted Verified Instagram page.
Bredau retracted his comments and apologized. Reported by news.com.au Tuesday.
The DLV later overturned a decision to exclude Bulmahn from the women’s 4x400m relay, but her boyfriend was allowed to compete in the men’s 4x400m relay.
In Saturday’s mixed 4x400m relay final, the Dutch team won gold, the USA silver and Great Britain bronze.
“The (mixed) lineup was chosen with the success of the mixed relay team in mind. The decision was made unanimously by the DLV coaching staff and explained to the athletes,” DLV said in a statement published by news.com.au on Tuesday. “The German mixed relay team was eliminated in seventh place in Friday’s qualification round with a time of 3 minutes 15.63 seconds.”
“Jean-Paul Bredout has apologised and will compete in the 400m individual race. Luna Bruman will not take part in the relay in Paris. The relay is a team sport. The athletes and the coach make up the team. Success depends on good teamwork and mutual trust among everyone.”
Reuters
Bredau missed out on a place in the semi-finals, finishing third in the fourth round of the repechage.
Schmidt, 25, has yet to speak publicly about the situation.
The sprinter, a model and social media influencer with 5.3 million followers on Instagram, represented Germany at the Tokyo Olympics but did not compete in Japan.
