By T. D. Thornton
A positive drug test for cocaine metabolites turned in by Nicole Walker, a member of Canada's prominent Stronach family who is the reigning Canadian show jumping champion, could cost Canada its berth in the 2020 Olympic Games.
Canada's major daily newspaper, the Globe and Mail, reported Nov. 12 that Walker's Aug. 7 drug positive occurred at the Pan Am Games in Lima after Walker helped the four-member show jumping team attain fourth place in a qualifying final for the Tokyo Games.
The Globe and Mail reported that Walker, who is appealing the positive result, “believes her failed test stemmed from drinking coca tea, a legal and common pick-me-up in South America.”
Walker, 26, is the daughter of Belinda Stronach, the chairman and president of The Stronach Group (TSG), which operates, among numerous other holdings, Santa Anita Park, Golden Gate Fields, Gulfstream Park, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course.
Walker is also the granddaughter of TSG founder and longtime Thoroughbred owner and breeder Frank Stronach. Last year Frank Stronach initiated a $540 million (CDN) lawsuit alleging widespread financial malfeasance against Belinda Stronach, and Nicole Walker was named as a co-defendant in that ongoing case.
According to the Globe and Mail, regulators at the Federation Equestre Internationale in Switzerland announced on Tuesday that “Ms. Walker is provisionally suspended from the sport after turning in a positive result for benzoylecgonine, a chemical produced when the body metabolizes cocaine.”
Walker could not be reached for comment. But the Globe and Mail reported that she posted on Instagram that “I was shocked and devastated to hear about these results. I do not use illicit drugs, ever.”
Citing sources close to Canada's equestrian team, the Globe and Mail reported that if Panam Sports upholds Walker's positive test, “her scores from the Lima Games will be dropped from the team's total, and the Canadian equestrian team will no longer qualify for the Olympics.”
In late September, Panam Sports said in a news release that 15 athletes tested positive for a banned substance. The body has already disqualified seven of the athletes for doping at the Games–three were stripped of gold medals–while athletes, including Ms. Walker, appealed the other eight tests.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
