Tony Andre Hansen (born 23 February 1979, in

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

) is a Norwegian

show jumper Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows are li ...

and musician.

Beijing Olympics Controversy

At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, Hansen initially won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

in team jumping as part of the Norwegian team, together with

Morten Djupvik Morten Djupvik (born 27 April 1972) is a Norwegian show jumping competitor. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Djupvik originally won the bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal ...

Stein Endresen Stein Endresen (born 4 October 1959) is a Norwegian show jumping competitor. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Endresen originally won the bronze medal as part of the Norwegian team in team jumping, together with Morten Djupvik Morten Dj ...

, and Geir Gulliksen. However, after failing the first of two doping tests, neither Hansen nor his horse, Camiro, was allowed to participate in the individual jumping competition. The

International Federation for Equestrian Sports The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (, FEI) is the international sport governing body, governing body of equestrianism, equestrian sports. The FEI came into being following the Olympic Congress in Lausanne (SUI) in 1921 from May ...

(FEI) provisionally suspended the horse after detecting the illegal substance

capsaicin Capsaicin (8-methyl-''N''-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) (, rarely ) is an active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus ''Capsicum''. It is a potent Irritation, irritant for Mammal, mammals, including humans, and produces ...

in his urine. If the second, or B, test was also found positive for capsaicin, Norway were likely to lose the bronze medal that the equestrian team had won on 18 August 2008. On 28 August, it was announced that the B test was also positive. A hearing on the doping charges was held in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

on 6 September; the FEI then had 28 days to make a decision with regards to the charges. Without new evidence to clear Hansen, he and the other members of the Norwegian Olympic equestrian team would lose their bronze medals. Hansen was cautiously optimistic at the start of the FEI hearings, stating that the amounts of capsaicin found on his horse "could have entered the horse's system without any doping substance itself being used". However, on 22 December 2008, the FEI returned their verdict: Hansen was found guilty of the doping charge and he was to be suspended from the sport for four and a half months. The Norwegian team was stripped of their bronze medal; the Swiss team, who had previously placed fourth, were promoted to bronze medal winners. Hansen appealed the verdict to the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

in January 2009 but his appeal was unsuccessful. A further appeal to the Swiss Supreme Court in 2010 also failed. Norwegian ShowJumping team leader for juniors and young-riders.

Horses

* ''Camiro'', Owner: Kjell Christian Ulrichsen * ''Ecu de Mieukestelt''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Tony Andre 1979 births Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Olympics Living people Norwegian male equestrians Norwegian sportspeople in doping cases Olympic equestrians for Norway Competitors stripped of Summer Olympics medals 21st-century Norwegian sportsmen Doping cases in equestrian sports