Dimitri Bilozerchev, who won three gold medals in the 1988 Olympics, and a teammate will not be on the Soviet team for the World Gymnastics Championships because of a drinking binge.
Sovietsky Sport, the newspaper that reported the drinking incident and the team cuts on Wednesday, said the situation was "so typical for our sports, that this almost doesn't require any elaboration, commentaries or conclusions."Bilozerchev, 22, and Vladimir Gogoladze "had a corrupting influence on other members of the team," top Soviet gymnastics official Leonid Arkayev said in the article.
Bilozerchev was known previously to have an alcohol problem. He was in a car accident in 1985 while driving drunk and broke his leg in 38 places. He recovered after difficult therapy.