Georgian Paralympic judo athlete arrested for attacking a security guard in a Tokyo hotel

The Olympic Organizing Committee is considering what kind of punishment he’ll receive, on top of any legal repercussions.  

Though the Olympics are best known as an opportunity for the best athletes in the world to prove their skills in their respective sports, it’s often also a chance for them to socialize with people from all over the world–and in some cases get up to mischief.

Though the severe restrictions on movement kept most of the participants out of trouble this time around, it unfortunately didn’t stop one Georgian athlete from allegedly attacking a security guard during a quarantine drinking party with his fellow Georgian athletes.

Reports indicate that Paralympic Judo athlete Zviad Gogotchuri (34) attacked the 63-year-old security guard on the evening of August 12, seemingly without warning in the hallways of the Ota Ward hotel in which he was quarantining. Apparently, the guard was on his way to give Gogotchuri and his fellow athletes a warning for being too loud when Gogotchuri suddenly attacked him.

He allegedly tried to hit the guard with a flying kick, then, when he missed, tackled the guard to the ground and proceeded to strangle him. The guard, who suffered a broken rib, told investigators, “The male athlete emerged from his room and started to come at me without saying a word.”

Gogotchuri, who had been drinking at the time of the incident, has since been arrested and charged with assault, and according to investigators, he has admitted to his crime, saying, “I can make no excuses.” The particulars of the incident are still under investigation at this time, and the International Paralympic Committee is working closely with authorities to determine how to proceed.

Meanwhile, the Olympic Organizing Committee is currently determining a suitable punishment for Gogotchuri, who won Gold at the Paralympics in Rio in 2016. The Tokyo Paralympic Judo games are scheduled to occur from 27-29 August, but the committee hasn’t announced whether his actions will disqualify him from competing.

Though the Olympics never comes without a little bit of controversy–and this one was especially rife with it–we do think it’s fair to say that, in spite of a few unfortunate circumstances such as this one, the Tokyo Olympics is generally being deemed a success. In fact, a recent survey even found that a majority of Japanese citizens were happy to have hosted it, so perhaps the 2020 Tokyo Olympics won’t go down in infamy merely as the “pandemic games” after all.

Sources: Mainichi Shimbun via Hachima Kiko, TV Asahi News, NHK
Top image: Pakutaso
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