Four horses competing at the Athens Olympics tested positive for banned substances.
Showjumper Cian O'Connor, winner of Ireland's only gold medal in Athens, said his horse Waterford Crystal was among them, issuing a statement shortly after the International Equestrian Federation announced the positive tests.
Ludger Beerbaum's horse Goldfever and Germany teammate Bettina Hoy's horse Ringwood Cockatoo were also positive, according to German news agency DPA. Beerbaum won the team jumping event aboard Goldfever. Hoy was the original winner in the three-day and individual events, but lost those golds for a technical infraction
Harald Riedl's horse Foxy Xx also tested positive, Austria's news agency APA reported. The horse finished far out of the medals in three-day evening.
FEI wouldn't release or confirm the names of the horses whose A-samples were positive, saying its rules only allow it to make public the list once B-samples are tested, or if riders agree to have their names disclosed.
FEI said those responsible for the horses testing positive were contacted through their national equestrian federations.
Requests to have the second sample analyzed must be made within 10 days, FEI said.
"I believe that I won this medal fair and square and that the horse has not been given anything that would make him jump better," O'Connor said, adding he will ask for the B-sample to be analyzed.
The Irish federation said Waterford Crystal was given a sedative for a fetlock injury a month before the Olympics in August. O'Connor said his veterinarian assured him the sedative would work its way out of the horse's system before the games.
Beerbaum said the banned substance Betamethasone was contained in a salve applied to a sore spot on the horse.
"I was shaken up when I discovered that it came about because of a treatment to help the horse," Beerbaum said. "Since I knew our team veterinarian approved this treatment, I was unconcerned.
"If we had informed the official veterinarian's committee of the FEI in Athens, this treatment would probably have been approved and we wouldn't have this case."
According to DPA, Hoy confirmed her horse's positive test for Hydroxy-Diphenhydramin, explaining that a lotion, Benadryl, was applied to a sore in the saddle area.
"I relied on the permission of our team veterinarian, who went out of his way to ask one of the FEI's veterinarian if this treatment was allowed," Hoy said.
Elisabeth Max-Theurer, president of BFV, the umbrella organization for riding and equestrian sports, reportedly confirmed the positive Austrian test to APA.
"It's true. We will wait for the B-sample and ask the rider," she said. "It's naturally sad when something like that happens, but you never know how a substance gets inside the body of a horse,"
If the B-sample is positive, the person responsible must explain the horse's positive test within 10 days. Subsequently, FEI will compile a case file to be submitted to the federation's judicial committee for its decision.
The person responsible then has 30 days to appeal any FEI decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
FEI said it could review the results of the Olympic competitions and inform the International Olympic Committee.
The IOC said it was not involved while the cases were being handled by the international federation.
If the federation confirms any doping offenses, the IOC would annul results of the horses involved. So if Waterford Crystal's second sample is positive, O'Connor could be stripped of his gold medal.
If no B-sample analysis is requested, a written explanation as to how the horse tested positive or a request for an oral hearing must be supplied within 10 days after notification of the results, FEI said.
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