Australia Olympic athlete banned asfter testing positive for cocaine

The Australian Olympic team has been rocked by a star's provisional suspension after returning a positive result for cocaine in his system.

It emerged on Wednesday morning, equestrian debutant Jamie Kermond had returned a positive A-sample for a metabolite of cocaine.

According to reports, he did not travel with the rest of the team when they flew to Tokyo on Tuesday night.

The test was conducted in late June.

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) said in a statement it would address the matter "later today".

Equestrian Australia released a statement confirming the news.

"Equestrian Australia has provisionally suspended Jumping athlete Jamie Kermond under the Australian National Anti-Doping Policy 2021," the governing body claimed.

"The mandatory Provisional Suspension Notice asserts Mr Kermond returned a positive A-sample for a metabolite of cocaine following a test conducted by Sport Integrity Australia on June 26, 2021.

"Cocaine is prohibited In-Competition by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Australian National Anti-Doping Policy 2021.

"Mr Kermond is prohibited from participating in any WADA compliant event, including the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, while the provisional suspension is in place."