Mountain bike world champion Nino Schurter is likely to face an army reprimand after the publication of a photo which shows him, bum bared, in front of the White House.
The army confirmed details reported in Swiss media that the 33-year-old faces a possible warning from his senior officers over the incident this month, though any disciplinary action will not be announced.
The olympic gold medalist and record eight-time world champion is supported in his career by Switzerland’s military.
Schurter was on service duty between races in the United States two weeks ago when he posted a photo on Instagram with three team colleagues all dropping their pants while facing the White House.
The photo, since deleted but viewable here, was tagged to President Donald Trump and included the message “white (peach emoji) for the White House.”
The Swiss Army says it did not want to make a scandal of the incident, and Schurter had apologized to his commanding officer. He told Swiss media taking the photo had been spontaneous and he loved being in the U.S.
Schurter is the current Swiss sportsman of the year, beating tennis great Roger Federer into second place in December in a public vote.
