Olympics Gold Medalist and World Champion dressage rider Anky Van Grunsven of The Netherlands has posted a statement on her web site regarding her view of the political impact of Chinese human rights violations in Tibet and how riders should respond at this time:

“Of course I follow the situation in Tibet. Sporters (riders) should know what is going on there. But I think the human rights aspect gets more attention because of the Olympic Games. Hopefully it will work out in a good way and it would be nice if we, sporters, could help a little bit to make the situation better.”

I know it is hard for Americans to imagine this, but Anky is a “brand” of her own in her home country, with her own line of clothing, interviews with the prime minister, and guest appearances on every imaginable television program. The logo above emblazons her web site and says it all.

She doesn’t need a last name.