INSIDE THE GAMES.- Nicole Walker and Equestrian Canada’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for the disqualification of the athlete from the Lima 2019 Pan American Games has been rejected, meaning the Canadian jumping team loses a place at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Walker was disqualified from Lima 2019 after a competing sample was found to contain benzoylecgonine, the metabolite of cocaine.
With Walker’s results replaced by the next best Canadian driver, Canada fell from fourth place in the team event to seventh.
That knocked Canada out of the Tokyo 2020 qualifying slots, with Olympic slots on offer for the top three performing teams that have not qualified for the Olympics.
Argentina instead qualified.
Walker and Equestrian Canada appealed to the CAS arguing that the athlete’s results should be reset, meaning Canada would finish fourth, while Panam Sports also appealed to the CAS and argued that Canada should be disqualified entirely.
The TAS ruled that Canada’s results in the Lima 2019 team jumping competition should be disqualified, partially supporting Panam Sports’ appeal and dismissing those of Walker and Equestrian Canada.
The sample in question was taken on the day of the team jump final at the Pan American Games, where the Canadian team also included Erynn Ballard, Lisa Carlsen and Mario Deslauriers.
In the team jump, the lowest score among four riders is removed from the total.
The International Equestrian Federation provisionally suspended Walker on November 8, 2019, but he was lifted on September 26 of last year.
Walker has blamed drinking cocoa tea for the anti-doping rule violation.
Since the jump team has not qualified, Canada will only be able to send one jump athlete to this year’s Olympics to compete in the individual event.
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