Todd hailed genius, faults and all

LONDON - Triple Olympic medal winner Mark Todd was today hailed in the British media as a genius to the end, ``faults and all''.

The Times newspaper poured accolades on Todd, naming him the finest competitive rider ever in any ``horsey discipline including racing''.

The paper noted Sydney bronze medal winner Todd had been awarded Event Rider of the Century from the International Equestrian Federation.

``But his stately award strewn passage to a dignified retirement in his homeland of New Zealand has been marred by the horror of personal scandal.

``One of the British tabloids ran a story packed with salacious sex 'n' drugs allegations. Scandal such as these destroy not just reputations but also lives.

``Of course the only reason the paper ran the story is because of horses. A scandal about a New Zealand Greco-Roman wrestler would not have made the paper.''

The Times said the population equation of horses with wealth and royalty made the story a ``goer in a poor news week''.

``Because of that Toddy's last ride has been tainted,'' Simon Barnes wrote in The Times.

Barnes said he didn't give a ``stuff'' about the story and didn't care whether it was true or not.

``My admiration for Todd is undiminished. If he happens to be a flawed human being, well he is in the company of several billion of us.

``And if he happens to be a flawed genius that makes him a pretty rare kind of human being, but it is the only type of genius you get.''

Barnes said it was concerned about the effect the tabloid story might have had on Todd's family.

``It did my heart good to see the excellent Carolyn, Todd's wife, in the collecting ring at the finish, and to talk to her and hear her ecstatic relief at the result. She is solid as a rock and that was news every bit as good as the medal.''

The paper recalled that Todd had won other Olympic gold medals, three Badmintons, five Burghleys and 25 leading events ``which is ridiculous'' as no one even gets close to the 44-year-old , who in February was named the New Zealander of the Year in Britain.

``This troubled year left people with a great deal of confusion but at least yesterday a consensus was clear. Neither audience, nor anyone in the horsey business, nor anyone in the press, gave a stuff any more than I did,'' Barnes said.

``They simply revelled in the final performance of a great Olympian. He was cheered to the echo, and by an Australian crowd at that. It was really worth seeing: we won't really see his like again.

``Athletes reveal a deeper and more relevant truth about themselves when they compete than anything that could be revealed by any scandal sheet.''

- NZPA