The Fédération Equestre Internationale tribunal continued rendering decisions for banned substance use at the 2008 Olympic Games by suspending Germany’s Christian Ahlmann for four months. His Olympic mount Cöster tested positive for capsaicin at the Games.
Ahlmann’s suspension will run through Dec. 12, as his time under provisional suspension, which began Aug. 21, will count toward the overall punishment. Ahlmann also was fined $1,719 and must contribute $1,289 toward the cost of the legal procedure. The horse and the rider are disqualified from the entire Olympic Games.
The tribunal members concluded the substance at issue—capsaicin—was a “Medication Class A” rather than a “Doping” substance based on their interpretation of the list of prohibited substances.
In considering the sanctions to be given to Ahlmann in this case, the tribunal took into account the following facts.
• Ahlmann is an experienced sportsman, and the behavior of anyone at the top of the sport and particularly at the Olympic Games must be faultless since the eyes of the world focus on performances at such events.
• Capsaicin is not only a pain-relieving substance, but also an agent that can be used for hypersensitization purposes.
• Ahlmann couldn’t identify the source of the positive test result during the preliminary hearing.
• The sources of the presence of the substance argued by Ahlmann indicate severe negligence on his part by using a “pain relieving” substance on the horse’s back without checking whether it contained any prohibited substances.
The Tribunal also considered a few facts in Ahlmann’s favor.
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• He had a clean record prior to the present case.
• He’s already suffered hardship because of the preliminary suspension.
• Ahlmann did identify and produce evidence at the hearing regarding the source of the substance.
• Capsaicisn is a newly detectable substance in FEI events, which is often used by riders for legitimate therapeutic reasons.
Ahlmann has 30 days to appeal this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The full text of the decision is available here: Cöster
