Four months after being crowned team world champions for the first time at the postponed 2022 FEI Endurance World Championship held in Butheeb (United Arab Emirates), Bahrain has been stripped of the team title following an equine anti-doping case involving a banned substance. The case involved Hera Durances, an 11-year-old Arabian mare ridden by Abdulrahman Mohammed Alzayed (the third Bahraini combination), who finished 18th. The Fédération Equestre Internationale Tribunal confirmed the disqualification of the athlete and horse combination from the February event and imposed an 18-month ineligibility period for the athlete, who has also been fined.

Testing during the event returned a positive result for stanozolol and 16-beta-hydroxystanozolol, which are anabolic steroids used to improve performance by promoting muscular development. Both are banned substances under the FEI’s Equine Prohibited Substances list. (See the findings of the FEI Tribunal here.)

As a result, Team Bahrain’s results are void as they no longer have the three finisher required to count for the team ranking. All the remaining teams on the leader board move up by one place, with France taking gold, Portugal slotting into silver and Italy stepping onto the podium with bronze. (See updated results here.) 

Team France is no stranger to the top spot of the podium having had its share of team golds in the past, although the most recent was in 2006. France has earned the most team titles of any country, with five to its name since the first edition was held in 1986, followed by UAE and Spain, which both have three world championship team titles in their record of achievements.   

“While it is never optimal to have medals redistributed following an event due to medication control and anti-doping related offenses, we view this as confirmation that the systems we have in place are thorough and effective,” said FEI Legal Director Mikael Rentsch. 

“The FEI’s Clean Sport program has extensive processes to ensure we not only educate the community, but also have the tools to follow up and uphold the rules at play in order to guarantee a level playing field, and safeguard the welfare of our human and equine athletes.”