Leslie Law has won his first Olympic gold medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the combined British, French and American appeal surrounding the medal positions in the three-day event.
German rider Bettina Hoy has had her 14-point penalty for passing through the start twice reinstated, dropping her from individual gold to completely out of the medals. As a result Germany has also lost team gold.
As well as Leslie’s gold medal, the British team has moved up to silver, with Pippa Funnell taking individual bronze. The French team are now gold medal winners, with the United States in bronze. The individual silver medal has gone to Kimberly Severson of the United States.
The CAS found that the ground jury’s decision to impose a time penalty on Bettina was based on fact and therefore not open to appeal by either the rider or the German Federation under the FEI’s rules. As a result the FEI Appeal Committee’s decision has been declared null and void, leading to the reinstatement of Ground Jury’s original judgement.
David O’Connor, president of the United States Equestrian Federation said: “The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is satisfied with the decision made by the CAS and believes it is the correct outcome, maintaining the integrity of our sport. The entire affair is a very unfortunate situation for all the countries involved.
”Everyone at the USEF feels badly for the German team and especially for Bettina Hoy, because no-one wins in a situation such as this.”
