Bahrain stripped of endurance world title after equine dope case
Team France crowned FEI Endurance World Champion 2022 after tribunal decision, federation says.
Team Bahrain has been stripped of its title in the endurance competition of the equestrian sports world championship following an anti-doping case, according to the International Equestrian Federation (FEI).
The decision by the organisation’s tribunal this week meant that France was the new team world champion, some four months after the postponed FEI Endurance World Championship 2022 was held in the United Arab Emirates.
In a statement, the FEI said the case involved a banned substance and the horse Hera Durances, ridden by Bahrain’s Abdulrahman Mohammed Alzayed.
It added that the tribunal had disqualified the athlete and horse combination from the event, while the athlete was hit with a fine and an 18-month ban.
“As a result, Team Bahrain’s results are null and void as they no longer have the three required combination results to count for the team ranking,” the statement said.
The disqualification also meant that Portugal took silver while Italy stepped onto the podium with bronze.
FEI Legal Director Mikael Rentsch said the redistribution of the medals confirmed “that the systems we have in place are thorough and effective”.