INQUIRER Sports

HONG KONG -- Canada's Eric Lamaze, riding Hickstead, won the individual jumping gold medal Thursday in a dramatic jump-off in searing heat and humidity as Hong Kong waited for Typhoon Nuri to make a direct hit.

Lamaze jumped a clear round to snatch Olympic gold from Sweden's Rolf-Goran Bengtsson and his horse Ninja, who picked up four faults in their race against the clock.

The two riders finished their jump-off in exactly the same time of 38.39 seconds.

Beezie Madden took the bronze medal for the USA after she and her horse beat six opponents against the clock.

She jumped a clear round in 35.25 seconds, to take the third spot from the world's number one, Germany's Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, who finished a disappointing Olympics with a round of 35.37 seconds.

The event, however, was overshadowed by a doping scandal with four riders - Bernardo Alves, Christian Ahlmann, Denis Lynch and Tony Andre Hansen - all banned from competing.

Thursday's medal is Canada's second at these Olympics after they came second to the United States in the team jumping events -- also after a dramatic jump-off.

Conditions for the final jumping round were among the most challenging the riders have faced throughout these Games events, as the Hong Kong Observatory prepared to raise to number eight the typhoon warning signal.

Some riders complained of the heat and humidity after completing their rounds.

Lamaze's victory seals his place at the top of world show jumping, a position that was jeopardized in the mid-nineties by drugs scandals.

He missed the Atlanta Games in 1996 after testing positive for cocaine and was dropped from his national team. But a four-year ban was cut to seven months when he convinced authorities that he had used the drug recreationally and not to enhance his performance.

He was barred from Sydney in 2000, over drug use, too, but a lifetime ban was lifted and he was able to return to competition.

As he stood on the podium in the middle of the Shatin arena, he shed a tear while watching the Canadian maple leaf flag being hoisted.