French athletes have expressed disbelief over the acquittal of a coach accused of domestic violence against Olympic judo champion Margaux Pinot, reports the BBC.
Ms Pinot accused her partner and judo trainer Alain Schmitt of punching and attempting to strangle her during an altercation over the weekend.
The Olympic gold medallist, 27, filed a complaint against Mr Schmitt.
He was arrested but denied the allegations and was acquitted in court.
A judge said there was not "enough proof of guilt" for the prosecution to proceed when delivering his verdict in a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
"A court is never there to tell who is telling the truth and who is lying," the judge said.
Shortly after the hearing, Ms Pinot tweeted a picture of her swollen face, marked by cuts and several bruises.
In one tweet, in which she alluded to her wounds and "the blood strewn on the floor of my apartment", she asked: "What was missing? My death at the end, perhaps?"