Bahrain stripped of endurance world title after equine dope case

Team France crowned 2022 FEI Endurance World Champion following tribunal decision, federation says.

Team Bahrain has been stripped of its title in the endurance competition of the World Equestrian Championship after an anti-doping case, according to the International Equestrian Federation (FEI).

The decision of the organization’s tribunal this week meant that France was the new team world champion, some four months after the postponed 2022 FEI Endurance World Championship 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 Bahraini Abdulrahman Mohammed Alzayed.

It added that the tribunal had disqualified the athlete and horse combination from the event, while fined and suspended the athlete for 18 months.

“As a result, Team Bahrain’s results are null and void as they no longer have the three required combination results to count towards the team standings,” the statement said.

The disqualification also meant that Portugal took silver while Italy took the bronze medal.

FEI Legal Director Mikael Rentsch said the redistribution of the medals confirmed “that the systems we have in place are thorough and effective”.