By TONY MARASCHIELLO -- Toronto Sun
Disgraced Canadian equestrian Eric Lamaze won't fight his ban from the Sydney Olympics.
"I think it's best if I just move on," Lamaze said yesterday at a packed news conference at his lawyer's Toronto office.
"I wish to apologize to all Canadians for the embarrassment that I have brought. I wish the Canadian equestrian team the best."
Lamaze, 32, was slapped last month with a lifetime competition ban by the Canadian Olympic Association after testing positive for cocaine, but the penalty was lifted on Monday by adjudicator Ed Ratushny.
However, Lamaze's hopes of competing at Sydney when the show-jumping competition gets under way this weekend were quashed early yesterday morning by the COA, which has the final say on who represents Canada.
"The message that the Canadian Olympic Association wishes to communicate to the world is one that commands respect and must be fully supported," Lamaze said. "I publicly and with full conviction support and endorse the decision. I do so without regret or bitterness."
Heading into the Sydney Games, the Schomberg, Ont., resident was considered Canada's best hope for an equestrian medal.
COA president Bill Warren said his association was "sympathetic," but still felt the ban was appropriate.
"The decision is based on Mr. Lamaze's admitted cocaine use," Warren said. "The facts are clear. Cocaine is on the IOC banned substance list. Mr. Lamaze's use of cocaine is in direct contravention of the agreement he signed with the COA (on July 30)."
Lamaze's lawyer, Tim Danson, said that while he was disappointed with the COA decision, "I do understand the enormous responsibilities that rest upon its shoulders."
Danson, however, took aim at the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, the body that oversees athletic drug testing, and its chairman, Dr. Andrew Pipe.
"When the Olympics are over and the dust has settled, the actions of Dr. Andrew Pipe and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in sport must be thoroughly investigated," Danson said. "Their role in this tragedy must be fully exposed."
Lamaze's ban from Olympic competition involves a long and complicated chain of events. On July 22, he tested positive for the banned substance ephedrine. He mistakenly ingested it through a dietary supplement. On Aug. 18 he was banned for life as a second-time offender. Lamaze tested positive for cocaine just prior the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, but was reinstated the following year.
When he learned of his lifetime ban, Lamaze said he slipped into a major depression and even considered suicide.
An appeal was launched and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport agreed that the banned substance in the supplement was taken unintentionally and Lamaze's suspension was rescinded on Aug. 24.
However, Lamaze was tested again on Aug. 22. Because of a new positive result, this time for cocaine, he was banned for life again on Aug. 29.
It was that ban that Ratushny rescinded on Monday.
"While I have had a very difficult past, I make no excuses," said Lamaze, who is scheduled to compete at the Tournament of Champions event at Cedar Valley, Ont., this weekend. "I am responsible for my own actions. But I want to set the record straight -- I am not a drug addict. The message that drugs are unacceptable is one that I fully endorse."
-- with files from CP
