CANADA will not have a show jumping team at this summer’s Tokyo Olympic Games following the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to dismiss an appeal by Canadian show jumper Nikki Walker and Equestrian Canada, and partially uphold Panam Sport’s appeal in ruling that the results for Team Canada at the 2019 Pan American Games are disqualified.

Walker was a member of the Canadian team who finished fourth at the 2019 Pan Am Games and earned one of three Olympic slots available, as well as finishing fourth individually with Falco van Spieveld.

In November 2019, she was provisionally suspended from FEI competition after testing positive for the banned substance benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, from a sample taken on August 7th at the Games.

A statement from Walker at the time said she had unknowingly ingested coca tea, a legal beverage that is common in Peru. However, the Panam Sports Disciplinary Commission found her to have committed an anti-doping rule violation, and her disqualification from the competition meant Canada slipped to seventh place and Argentina were promoted to fourth and into the Olympic qualifying place.

The CAS hearing was held by video conference on December 21st and 23rd 2020. A statement on their decisions said: “The CAS Panel issued its decision today (Tuesday, January 12th) in which it dismissed the appeals filed by Nicole Walker and Equestrian Canada and partially upheld Panam Sports’s appeal in ruling that the results for Team Canada in the jumping competition at the 2019 Pan Am Games are disqualified, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes. The Arbitral Award with the grounds for the Panel’s decision will be notified to the parties in the coming weeks.”