Hansen stripped of bronze medal

Source: Agencies  |   2008-12-24  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

NORWEGIAN rider Tony Andre Hansen was stripped of his Olympic bronze medal in team jumping on Monday after his horse tested positive for a banned drug at the Beijing Games.

Hansen was disqualified by the International Equestrian Federation and banned from the sport for 4 1/2 months.

The 29-year-old Hansen was the best performer in a four-rider Norway team which won bronze under a scoring system where the top three count.

"We believe this judgment is completely wrong," Hansen told Norwegian Website VG Nett. "The judgment didn't come as a shock, but it seems clear that we will take this matter further."

Without his scores, his Norway teammates - Morten Djupvik, Stein Endresen, and Geir Gulliksen - drop out of medal contention. The fourth-place Switzerland team of Steve Guerdat, Christina Liebherr, Niklaus Schurtenberger and Pius Schwizer will now be awarded the bronze medals by the International Olympic Committee.

The United States won gold, beating Canada in a jumpoff in China's Hong Kong, where the equestrian events were staged last August.

Hansen's horse, Camiro, tested positive for capsaicin, a banned pain relieving medication derived from chili peppers.

"This is just the first round. We're not surprised, but we are very disappointed," said Morten Steenstrup, Hansen's lawyer.

Steenstrup added that the traces of capsaicin were so small that "it hasn't had any performance-enhancing effect."

Hansen was provisionally suspended and did not complete the individual jumping competition. His ban on Monday was backdated and runs through January 2, 2009.

"(It is each person's) duty to ensure that no prohibited substance is present in his or her horse's body during an event," the FEI said.

The FEI described Hansen as an experienced sportsman with an impeccable record who would suffer the hardship of losing an Olympic medal.

Hansen was fined 3,000 Swiss francs (US$2,740). The FEI also ordered him to pay 8,000 Swiss francs (US$7,300) toward its legal costs because his defense tactics prolonged the case. He can appeal the ruling within 30 days to the Court of Arbitration of Sport.