German rower given second chance after Games scandal

BERLIN (AFP) –

German rower Nadja Drygalla, pictured in August 2012, was given the all clear on Tuesday to carry on her career after a hearing with the German Rowing Federation (DRV) the ruling body announced.

German rower Nadja Drygalla was given the all clear on Tuesday to carry on her career after a hearing with the German Rowing Federation (DRV) the ruling body announced.

The 23-year-old left the Olympic Village in London early – she had already competed in the eight competition but was eliminated in the repechage stage – after it was revealed her boyfriend was a former regional official of the NPD, an openly neo-Nazi political movement in the northern city of Rostock.

However, on Tuesday DRV president Siegfried Kaidel confirmed that after a hearing that last several hours the federation supported Drygalla totally.

“A lot of people have tried to uncover things about her entourage,” said Michael Vesper, secretary-general of the German Olympic Committee (DOSB).

“She herself is not an adherent of the extreme-right ideology.

“Therefore there is nothing against her.”

Drygalla, who had already received the support of German Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere, had already resigned from the police service last year because of her relationship.