Reigning Olympic champion Guerdat cleared of wrongdoing after horses fail doping tests

Olympic champion Steve Guerdat has been cleared of wrongdoing ©FEI

Swiss showjumpers Alessandra Bichsel and London 2012 Olympic champion Steve Guerdat have been cleared of any wrongdoing by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) after doping failures by their horses were attributed to poppy seed contamination.

Samples taken from two of Guerdat's horses during competitions in France in May tested positive for morphine, a controlled medication, and a similar banned substance called Codeine, while one also showed evidence of a second illegal product, Oripavine.

The first of these was Nino des Buissonnets, the mount on which he won his Olympic title.

Bichsel's horse Charivari KG also tested positive for the same three substances that month, with both riders having used the same feed supplier.

The duo were provisionally suspended on July 20, but their bans were lifted a week later, with the FEI admitting there was a high chance of unintentional contamination.

All the horses did serve two month bans, but, with those now complete, the governing body have ruled that there will be no further sanctions beyond the automatic disqualification of the horses’ results at the events where they tested positive.

Steve Guerdat en route to London 2012 victory on Nino des Buissonnets ©Getty Images

Following independent laboratory tests, the FEI accepts how the failures were caused by contaminated poppy seeds.

"Both these athletes and the Swiss National Federation have worked in full cooperation with the FEI to secure these landmark agreements," said FEI secretary general Sabrina Zeender.

"It’s good to know that since the beginning of this year the FEI processes can facilitate such settlements so that athletes are able to clear their names when contamination is involved.

“Steve Guerdat and Alessandra Bichsel fully accepted that standard procedures had to be followed, but were able to provide proof that the positives were due to contamination, which meant that we could reach a settlement that was acceptable to both the FEI and to the FEI Tribunal.”

This means both riders will now be free to challenge for a place at Rio 2016, with Guerdat, a two-time Olympic medallist who also won a team bronze at Beijing 2008, seeking a successful defence of the individual crown he won ahead of Dutch rival Gerco Schroder in London.