Arnheim, Netherlands - Dutch gymnast Yuri van Gelder took his fight to take part in the Olympics rings final to a Dutch court Friday, arguing he was unfairly thrown out of Rio by team managers for late-night drinking and missing an early morning training session.
The high-stakes hearing in a packed courtroom in the eastern city of Arnhem was the latest twist in 33-year-old Van Gelder's turbulent sports career which, alongside his 2005 world title, has also featured a ban for cocaine use and being dropped from a Dutch World Championships team for alleged drug use.
Van Gelder was mobbed by media and fans as he arrived at the court and scores of people crowded into an extra room set up for the public to watch the legal battle that has dominated Dutch headlines this week, almost eclipsing performances of the country's athletes in Rio.
''I had just reached an Olympic final. I celebrated with a beer,'' Van Gelder told reporters after the hearing, during which he said he drank ''four or five'' beers. ''If somebody had explicitly told me that was banned, I would not have done it.''
If the judge orders Van Gelder's reinstatement, it is unclear what would happen once he gets back to Rio, as his spot in the final has already been reallocated.
Van Gelder's lawyer, Cor Hellingman, asked a judge to order the Netherlands Olympic Committee to do all it can to ensure Van Gelder can participate in Monday's final, including buying him a business class ticket to Rio and, if necessary, arguing his case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
''Van Gelder could have stayed in Rio to await the outcome of an appeal,'' Hellingman said. ''Instead he was more or less kidnapped and put on a plane.''
Harro Knijff, the Dutch Olympic Committee's lawyer, rejected that characterization and denied there was a rush to justice.
''There was almost a full day of meetings and discussions before reaching what is, of course, this painful decision to eject Van Gelder from the team,'' he said during the hastily arranged hearing.
The judge said he would deliver an oral ruling later Friday afternoon.
Van Gelder admitted drinking at Holland Heineken House in Rio, a popular temporary venue that is a magnet for Dutch athletes and fans. But he denied drinking after that, saying he then went to his girlfriend's apartment in Rio, before picking up a fellow Dutch gymnast from a nightclub and returning to the athletes' village, arriving at 5:08 a.m.
He said he slept through morning training, but denied that was unusual.
''The rings is an explosion of power. A day before the match I don't train and the day afterward, I don't train,'' he said. ''So I didn't divert from my normal routine.''
The Dutch Olympic committee's lawyer said that the late night foray into Rio and failure to stick to agreements had led to a breakdown in trust between Van Gelder and his coach, Bram van Bokhoven, leading the Dutch gymnastic federation to recommend Van Gelder be sent home.
''The top of the gymnastics team - including his own coach - pressed for him to be kicked off the team for his behavior and his negative influence on other team members,'' Kijff said.
