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Todd rides out scandal storm
WELLINGTON, Sept 1 (AFP) - He's recognised as the finest three-day event rider ever yet New Zealander Mark Todd enters his fifth and final Olympic Games with his country torn over whether he should even compete. Three months ago, Britain's Sunday Mirror alleged Todd took cocaine during a romp with a gay lover in an English country hotel. Todd has refused to deny the allegations but his place in the Olympic team is secure following an investigation into the incident by the New Zealand Olympic Committee. Such is the tumult that has reverberated from the sensational allegations, that some New Zealand athletes want contingency plans in place to protect them against any possible fallout should fresh accusations surface during the Games. For his part, Todd said the decision by the NZOC was "not before time." "I'm getting on with the job of building up for Sydney so I'm pleased with the decision," he said. But others would rather not see the 44-year-old make am attempt for an unprecedented third gold medal. Former New Zealand Olympic middle distance running medallist Dick Quax said the NZOC appeared to have "turned a blind eye" to the claims against Todd. Quax said he understood the NZOC refused to look at video evidence supplied by the British Sunday Mirror which reportedly showed Todd snorting cocaine. "Seemingly they have just turned a blind eye to all this ... if their investigation has been anything less than robust, it would be a tragedy for New Zealand sports. "I feel sorry for Mark Todd that he got himself into this position but he's the one who got himself there. (He) needs to deny these allegations." Todd's case has also become something of a political hot-potato in New Zealand with leading politicians urging him to come clean over the allegations. But the upheavel distracts from Todd's phenomenal equestrian achievements. Todd, then a 28-year-old dairy farmer, sold most of his herd to finance his quest for an Olympic medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. He won the three-day event on Charisma and repeated the feat on the same horse in Seoul four years later. Todd has won Burghley - second to Badminton in prestige on the British equestrian calendar - five times during his 21-year riding career in Britain. Todd received an MBE in 1984 and a CBE in 1995. He was also widely tipped for higher honours. Earlier this year Todd was judged New Zealander of the Year in Britain by the New Zealand Society. He is also a member of the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame and a former New Zealand Sportsman of the Year. After Sydney he plans to retire from competition and move to the farm with his wife and two children. Todd is also planning to build new stables and training facilities.
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