London 2012 canoeing champion banned for doping

ByReuters

Updated 28/10/2015 at 09:22 GMT

Australia's 2012 London Olympics gold medallist Tate Smith has been banned for two years for doping violations, ruling the canoe kayaker out of next year's Rio Games.

Australia's Tate Smith, David Smith, Murray Stewart and Jacob Clear celebrate winning the men's kayak four (K4) 1000m finals at Eton Dorney during the London 2012 Olympics Games

Image credit: Reuters

Tate was part of the team that won the K4 gold medal at the London Games and his out-of-competition samples, provided in Hungary on July 21-22 last year, tested positive for the steroid stanozolol.

The 33-year-old had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which handed down a two-year ban, the Australian Olympic Committee said in a statement.

Smith's ban has been backdated to the day he was provisionally suspended and he will be ineligible to compete until Sept. 8, 2016.

Canoeing