Rio 2016: Adam Kreek takes dig at Eugenie Bouchard, apologises later

Montreal: Canada's former Olympic rower Adam Kreek has apologised for his sexist remarks about compatriot and tennis player Eugenie Bouchard after she lost early in the Rio Games.

Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard. Pic/Getty Images

Last week, Kreek (35) wrote on his Instagram account that Bouchard was consistently failing because she was more focused on her looks than the sport.

"When I look on her social media, she's posting pictures of herself, holding up toothpaste and trying out different hairstyles. For me, as a sports fan, I'm not interested in watching that. There are people out there that want to see someone, you know, pursuing beauty and fashion and this sort of thing. And maybe that's, 'I got into the tennis world and I want to leverage this'," Kreek told CBC's Ron MacLean.

Adam Kreek

The 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medal-winning rower was criticised on social media thereafter by current and former athletes as well as fans. He then apologised not just to Bouchard but to all female Canadians competing at the Games.

"In a recent commentary, I questioned Genie Bouchard's commitment to her matches in Rio based on her focus on social media and sponsorship activities. It was not fair to place my assumptions directly upon an athlete. I did not mean for my comments to offend or belittle the pursuit of fashion or selfie-art. For this, I apologise," Kreek wrote on his website.