Equestrian Rider Got Disqualified From Paris Olympics After Giving Dog Eyedrops

A Belgian equestrian athlete has had his results from the 2024 Paris Olympics thrown in the garbage after he tested positive for a banned substance that was the result of giving his dog eye drops.

This week, the International Testing Agency announced that rider Domien Michiels' individual results from the Dressage Team Grand Prix after he tested positive for a banned substance, dorzolamide.

According to USA Today, the World Anti-Doping Agency classifies dorzolamide as a diuretic and masking agent, however, the announcement made it pretty clear, how Michiels wound up with the positive test.

"The athlete was able to establish that dorzolamide entered his body inadvertently when he administered eye drops containing dorzolamide to his dog to treat the dog's illness," an ITA statement reads.

I'm not sure what kind of dog Michiels has, but speaking from experience, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess French bulldog. Those bug-eyed li'l fellas are always needing drops. 

I've administered more than a few, which now has me worried about my own Olympic aspirations (I want to be one of the middle guys in a four-man bobsled team who pushes and then just gets to ride the rest of the way). 

An equestrian rider has been disqualified from the Paris olympics after a failed doping test that was the result of giving his dog eye drops. )Getty Images)

To his credit, Michiels accepted the results of the test and the decision to D! him; something I would not be able to do for reasons we will get into in a moment.

"I accept the decision that acknowledges that I was not negligent and had no intention to cheat or break the rules," Michiels said in a statement of his own. "I now look ahead to continue to give the best of myself in equestrian sports in the future."

Good for him for owning up to it… now, can someone please explain to me why the hell it matters if the rider is potentially doping for equestrian events.

I mean, I don't condone it, but does it matter? I feel like the only one who matters is the horse, and as long as the horse's pee shows signs of nothing but oats, sugar cubes, and apple cores, I'm not sure what the problem is. Granted, my only experience with horses is that I rode one briefly (albeit very impressively) on a kindergarten field trip to a farm, so I'm not exactly a horse expert.

So, with the 2026 Games about a year away, any dog-owning Olympic hopefuls need to remember to throw on some gloves if their dog has an eye issue between now and next February (which, again, is inevitable if you happen to have a French bulldog).