German athlete leaves London Olympics over suspected neo-Nazi links

PanARMENIAN.Net - A German athlete has left the Olympic games voluntarily after reports emerged about alleged neo-Nazi links, The Huffington Post reported.

Rower Nadja Drygalla left the games after a discussion about her "private life" with head of the German team Michael Vesper.

The German Olympic Committee said in a statement Drygalla decided to leave of her own accord after a "detailed and intense conversation to avoid creating a burden” on her team.

“Ms Drygalla declared at the end of our conversation that she would leave the Olympic village in order not to be a burden for the Olympic team. The German Rowing Association welcomes this decision,” he said.

The decision came after rumours in the German press the 23-year-old athlete was in a relationship with a member of Germany’s far-right National Democratic Party (NDP).

Siegfried Kaidel, head of the German Rowing Association, said the athlete had "affirmed several times that she had nothing to do with the far-right scene.”

Drygalla, who was a member of the women's eight rowing crew, had finished competing in the Games after her team were knocked out.