Walker Fighting to Ensure the Canadian Equestrian Team Remains Qualified for Tokyo Olympics
Show jumper and Canadian Equestrian Team member Nicole Walker will file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). This comes after the Panam Sports Disciplinary Commission disqualified her Panam Games results and the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) announced that the team is no longer qualified for the 2020 Olympics. The Panam Sports Disciplinary Commission had the option to preserve Team Canada’s result and they opted not to.
“There is no basis in fact or law to disqualify Canada from the 2020 Olympics. Canada qualified for the Olympics fair and square even if the scores Nicole earned after she drank the coca tea are discounted. I am confident that Team Canada and Nicole will receive a fair hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport,” said Tim Danson, Walker’s lawyer.
“My priority right now is to continue to fight for the Canadian Equestrian Team. The Team deserves to go to the Olympics,” said Nicole Walker.
In a hearing before the Commission on December 4th, Panam Sports accepted that Walker unknowingly ingested coca tea at breakfast on August 7th which caused the positive test result.
Coca tea is a prevalent and legal beverage that is widely available and common in Peru. It has a similar appearance and taste to green tea and is packaged using similar colours and imagery.
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