The German Equestrian Federation has dissolved their show jumping, dressage and three-day eventing teams and suspended four-time Olympic champion Ludger Beerbaum as the result of a rash of doping allegations following the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Beerbaum was quoted in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeinen as saying, “I had the attitude that anything that will not be detected is allowed … I can do what I like as long as I don’t get found out.”
Beerbaum has been suspended from taking part in this week’s Nations’ Cup event. “I have to accept this,” Beerbaum told German Press Agency dpa. “I want us to have clear rules, which are understood by everyone.”
A three-member panel set up by the German Olympic committee will conduct an investigation, starting in June, into the several positive tests for medication ahead of the Beijing Olympics last summer. After which, the Team will be rebuilt under the supervision of the DOSB, Germany’s Olympic Committee. “We had to do something to wake them up,” said Breido zu Rantzau, president of the German Equestrian Federation.
Olympic officials welcomed the decision. “It’s a radical move, with which the FN wants to conduct a comprehensive clearing up with the help of independent experts,” said Michael Vesper, general director of the German Olympic Committee.
The DOSB will make recommendations to the Olympic Committee as well as the German Federation on how to manage the problem of doping in horse sports within a month. Riders who wish to earn their places back on the Team will be assessed by the special commission. Only after satisfying the commission can a rider be recommended for the team though it is unclear whether this will happen in time for the European Championships being held at Windsor Castly this August.
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