The 41-year-old, known affectionately as the Herminator, wrote a letter to the media explaining that he likes to enjoy a beer or two at festivals but now realises he overindulged, and the reason was that he was celebrating the news of his partner’s pregnancy with friends.

In the mobile phone footage, the two-time gold medallist (dressed in Lederhosen) climbs onto a stage and grabs the conductor’s baton, shows the audience his middle finger (known as the Stinkefinger in German), and almost crashes down into the orchestra.

His letter ends with: “I realize that my appearance was not very praiseworthy but things like this happen in the best of families.”

He and his girlfriend Carina already have one-year-old twin girls.