We all think of athletes as focused fitness freaks who believe their bodies are temples. Meet Ivan Ukhov, a Russian high jumper who’s about to shatter that squeaky-clean image.
He showed up an international meet in Lausanne drunk last week, but insisted that he wanted to compete. That was never a good idea.
As you can see by this footage, removing his tracksuit pants was a challenge. Given that, high jumping was always going to be difficult for Ivan, and hilarious to watch. He shambles towards the bar, gives a half-hearted jump, before flopping down on the mat.
I’ve never seen anything like it in competitive sport, and neither have the organizers. There are calls for Ivan to receive a lifetime ban, but I’d hate to see it go that far. Yes he messed up, but the only person he hurt was himself. Can you imagine the hangover he must have felt?
