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Fifth horse fails drug test
A fifth horse has failed a drugs test at the Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong, in the latest blow to the troubled sport.
United States dressage rider Courtney King's horse Mythilus has tested positive for an anti-inflammatory pain reliever, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) revealed on Thursday.
FEI officials also confirmed the B samples of the four others - all showjumpers - had all yielded positive results, raising the likelihood of Tony Andre Hansen and the Norwegian team being stripped of their bronze medal in the team competition.
Hansen's horse, Camiro, tested positive for the banned pain reliever capsaicin. The other horses, who also tested positive for the same skin product, were those of Ireland's Denis Lynch (Lantinus), Brazil's Bernado Alves (Chupa Chup), and Germany's Christian Ahlmann (Coster).
It is likely all four showjumpers will be disqualified and their results scratched from the Games. But the riders have one last chance to appeal, according to the FEI.
"Evidence and written submissions have been requested from each rider, and a three-member panel of the FEI tribunal has been appointed," the FEI said. "The panel will then, in light of all the evidence received, take a decision as to the applicable sanction, if any."
The tribunal verdicts are expected in early October, a month after the September 5-7 hearings in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Swiss, who finished fourth in team jumping, could be awarded the bronze medal if Norway are eliminated.
King's horse Mythilus tested positive for Felbinac, a medication used as an anti-inflammatory pain reliever. King, who placed 13th individually in the dressage competition, was officially notified last Friday of the positive test result and the decision for provisional suspension was upheld that evening at a preliminary hearing before one member of the FEI Tribunal.
"Given that the dressage events of the 2008 Olympic Games ended on August 19, it was decided to wait until the confirmatory B analysis prior to any public announcement of the findings," the FEI said. "We have now received confirmation of the initial finding from the analysis of the B sample."
The use of muscle relaxants and pain-relievers is rife in the sport, one equestrian trainer told the Post last week. The four positives by the showjumpers cast a shadow over the final day of Olympic competition last Thursday, "This is certainly a serious blow to the sport," top FEI official Sven Holmberg, who is also the chairman of the jumping committee, said at a press conference following the revelations. "The fact that four horses have tested positive, and all for the same substance, is worrying," Holmberg said.
The equestrian events at the 2004 Athens Games were also marred by four doping cases - two of them in showjumping; Irish rider Cian O'Connor and Germany's Ludger Beerbaum lost gold medals.