WOW..will norway loose their medal??

[belambi]

Doping / Medication Cases at the 2008 Olympic Games and Report by the Second Vice President on Dressage 21/08/2008 View online
This FEI press release contains an update on two issues: doping / medication cases at the 2008 Olympic Games and the report by the second FEI Vice President on Dressage.

DOPING CASES

The following combinations will not be competing in the Jumping individual final competition held tonight (Thursday, 21 August). They have been provisionally suspended by the FEI further to doping/medication control tests that indicated the presence of capsaicin in each horse.

Rider Horse

Bernardo Alves (BRA) Chupa Chup
Christian Ahlmann (GER) Cöster
Denis Lynch (IRL) Latinus
Tony Andre Hansen (NOR) Camiro

Capsaicin is classified as a« doping » prohibited substance given its hypersensitizing properties, and as a « medication class A » prohibited substance for its pain relieving properties.

As previously communicated, the FEI provisionally suspends all competitors who test positive in doping or positive medication cases at the Olympic Games in the interests of the integrity of the sport.

Christian Ahlmann was notified of his suspension yesterday evening (Wednesday, 20 August) further to receipt of the test results by the FEI from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Laboratory yesterday afternoon.

A preliminary hearing was held at 10h00 this morning (21 August) before a member of the FEI Tribunal who confirmed the suspension.

The other riders - Tony Andre Hansen, Bernardo Alves, Denis Lynch - were notified earlier today (21 August) further to receipt of their positive test results this morning. All three of them were provisionally suspended.

Preliminary hearings were held with the respective National Federations in the following order: 14h00 – Brazil; 15h00 – Ireland; 16h00 – Norway. The hearings were held before a member of the FEI Tribunal who confirmed the suspension.

FURTHER STEPS

Confirmatory analysis of the B-samples will be carried out very shortly according to the accelerated procedure in place for the Olympic Games. Upon report of a positive B-sample result, evidence and written submissions will be requested from the rider, and a three member panel of the FEI Tribunal will be appointed. This panel should take a decision as to the applicable sanctions as early as possible further to the accelerated procedure, and providing for a hearing to be held as necessary. The competition results will be amended as indicated in the Tribunal’s final decision.

REPORT BY THE SECOND FEI VICE PRESIDENT ON DRESSAGE

A detailed report on the findings of the FEI Second Vice President concerning a meeting held in Hong Kong was produced. The conclusion of the report is that the meetings had not affected the judging. The procedure will, however, be tightened so that this will not happen again. Dressage has had an excellent competition which was judged to the high standards expected at the Olympic Games

[Clear_Blue]

There was a brief mention of a doping positive in one of Norway’s horses on CNBC this morning.

Came here to see if it was true:(.

[Guin]

And Denis/Lantinus! This just makes me sick!

[belambi]

why him in particular?

[FullCircleTraining]

[QUOTE=Guin;3460843]
And Denis/Lantinus! This just makes me sick! :([/QUOTE]

You and me both, Guin! I didn’t see Lantinus in the order of go this morning, so I came here to see what was going on… I’m between this and this :mad:.

@balambi

why him in particular?

I’m disappointed in/about all of them, but for me, an Olympic medal for Lantinus would have been the capstone of a phenomenal year for a phenomenal horse.

[akrogirl]

I can’t believe these guys are being so stupid after what happened in Athens. How did they ever expect to get away with it if it was, indeed, intentional?

[Guin]

I don’t know why him - the pair just caught my eye from the beginning, and I’m an Irish fan at heart.

[akrogirl]

I was hoping for a Lantinus medal because, A - I am part Irish and B - I have a Landkoenig mare

I guess Christian doesn’t surprise me so much after his temper tantrum in the team event.

It would be so nice to have a clean Olympics for a change.

[Stubborn_Mare]

I always want to believe the best of everyone, particularly riders at the top of the sport… so when I hear things like this I try to give them the benefit of the doubt and think maybe it was accidental or something. But I’m struggling of late… there have been so many positive tests lately and I’m starting to wonder how and why. Ok, tests are more sophisticated now but surely a top level competitor is aware of that fact and would be extra cautious as a result? My question is, can these doping incidents really be legitimately explained away as mistakes or is this kind of thing just really prevalent in horse sports? Ugh, so many really lovely riders have been named in these incidents in recent years and I don’t want to think they are all capable of this kind of dodgy behaviour.

[belambi]

ah…yep I see…Its just amazing that for two olympics in a row there are Irish sjumping drug issues!

[Edgar]

shucks, that is nice news to wake up to:(
I did not know capsaicin was fed to horses, I have seen it in liniments used topically. I understand it is the stuff that makes a pepper hot.

[akrogirl]

[QUOTE=Stubborn Mare;3460888]
I always want to believe the best of everyone, particularly riders at the top of the sport… so when I hear things like this I try to give them the benefit of the doubt and think maybe it was accidental or something. But I’m struggling of late… there have been so many positive tests lately and I’m starting to wonder how and why. Ok, tests are more sophisticated now but surely a top level competitor is aware of that fact and would be extra cautious as a result? My question is, can these doping incidents really be legitimately explained away as mistakes or is this kind of thing just really prevalent in horse sports? Ugh, so many really lovely riders have been named in these incidents in recent years and I don’t want to think they are all capable of this kind of dodgy behaviour.[/QUOTE]

My feelings, exactly.

[caffeinated]

@Edgar;3460898

shucks, that is nice news to wake up to:(
I did not know capsaicin was fed to horses, I have seen it in liniments used topically. I understand it is the stuff that makes a pepper hot.

It is, and it’s great for pain relief. I think it could be “explained” as simply using the wrong linimint, though at this level one would think people would be very careful about knowing what they can use and what they can’t. Unless something was mislabelled.

One article said they rub it on a horse’s legs to make them “pick their legs up more”- is there any truth to that? The stuff stings, sure, but usually only for a second, in my experience…

[Edgar]

I have some hot stuff that has it in it (for human use) it is like tiger balm, makes your muscles nice and warm when you rub it on but it does not sting unless you get it in your eyes. Eating it as a pepper realy nums your mouth but I didn’t know that it would help with pain releave systemic.

[caffeinated]

If it’s absorbed through mucous membranes it can have a more systemic effect- that’s how it’s used for migraines- diluted chili powder rubbed inside the nostrils.

[Berry0317]

Capsaicin is also a product of Paprika, which is in Black as Knight and other coat conditioners. It could be something as simple as this. We always take our show hunters off Black as Knight days before a show for this very reason.

[Equibrit]

Capsaicin ointments contain extract of red chili peppers from the jalapeno pepper plant. These extracts are rich in capsaicin, a substance that makes peppers burning hot. Capsaicin increases the release of, and then depletes, a messenger substance that transmits pain signals to the brain. Although it is quite difficult to conduct double-blind trials because of the burning sensation that capsaicin initially causes, applying capsaicin ointments to painful joints appears to ease pain. And, unlike counterirritant ointments, capsaicin preparations do not cause redness.

Capsaicin ointments, such as Zostrix®, are typically applied to the skin directly over the painful joints two to four times per day. Maximal pain relief may require several weeks. For the first few days of use, capsaicin ointment will cause a burning sensation where it is applied. The burning sensation may increase when using warm water (i.e., in a bath or shower), when the cream is applied less than three or four times per day, when there is perspiration, or when a bandage is used over the cream.

It is extremely important to handle capsaicin ointments carefully and to wash your hands thoroughly—especially your fingertips—after each application to avoid spreading the cream onto sensitive areas. If capsaicin comes into contact with wounds, the mouth, the nose, or other mucosal surfaces—especially the eyes—it causes very severe pain but does not cause damage.

[ise]

How tragic for the other members of Norway’s team if they do lose their medals. The rider responsible should have to get on the podium and hand them back for all the world to see what a complete CHEATER he is - and the other 3 who used this substance should have to stand up there with him.

They should all be suspended from competition for a year at the very least.

The old saying is true. Cheaters never win and Winners never cheat.

[caffeinated]

If it was used topically in a liniment, or in something like Black as Knight… is this even something that could be called “doping”? I’m not sure it’s on the same plane as something that’s really performance enhancing, like EPO or something.

A lot of us use this stuff all the time. It’s in a ton of products:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16202

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30e07e33-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5

http://www.jacksmfg.com/details.asp?product_id=2042

http://www.jacksmfg.com/details.asp?product_id=2043

http://www.smartpakequine.com/productclass.aspx?productClassid=1517

There’s probably bunches more I can’t find. And someone reading a label may not notice a capsaicin derivative that may show up on tests too.

I dunno- under the rules it’s cheating, yes, but it’s not like they’ve hopped up their horses with stimulants, either.

[kwilhide]

I have found that when using something like Zostrix, that covering it with something like a boot or wrap(or my half chaps) has made the sting last a very long time. If air gets to it, it does not seem to sting, but when covered, even after being exposed to air for a little while and seemingly no sting, when then covering with something tight fitting, the sting comes back, at least for me. The heat must somehow reactivate the sting.