Germany will be deprived of the Athens Olympics team showjumping gold medal after the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) said it had disqualified Goldfever and rider Ludger Beerbaum for doping.

A statement on the FEI website said the Judicial Committee had agreed that the horse Goldfever and the (rider) must be disqualifed from the event and that all prizes and prize money won at the event must be forfeited.

Ointment containing the banned substance Betamethasone, a type of steroid, was used to treat eczema on the horse before the Games.

Although independent vets said there would have been no impact on the animal's performance, the FEI has applied the rules of strict liability.

The United States will now take the gold and Sweden the silver with Germany dropping down to third after the horse's results were removed from the record books. Beerbaum can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within a month.

Source: Xinhua