Lamaze, who won gold in individual showjumping at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, team silver in Beijing and individual bronze at Rio 2016 received the ban after the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) concluded he committed an anti-doping rule violation.

The FEI said Lamaze was guilty of tampering because he submitted fabricated medical documents as part of an ongoing Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) proceeding.

Lamaze, who retired from the sport last year to focus on his health following a diagnosis for brain cancer, which he made public in 2019 is suspended until September 11 in 2027.

Under anti-doping rules, Lamaze was deemed to have waived a hearing, admitted a violation and accepted the proposed consequences because he did not respond to the charges.

As well as the ban, Lamaze has also been fined CHF15,000 (£13,500/$16,630/€15,660).

He has 21 days in which to appeal the decision, as do the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, as the athlete’s national anti-doping organisation.

The full detail of the FEI decision is not due to be made public until the conclusion of the ongoing CAS proceeding.

Lamaze’s career highlight as a rider came during the Beijing 2008 Olympics, when he rode stallion Hickstead to gold in the individual jumping event, which took place in Hong Kong.

Lamaze and Hickstead triumphed in a jump-off after beating Swedish rider Rolf-Göran Bengtsson and his horse Ninja.

Lamaze is also no stranger to controversy, having missed the Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Olympic Games due to positive drug tests, although these were both later overturned on appeal.

 Earlier this year he was the subject of a civil lawsuit in Florida in the United States when he was accused of deception by owners of two horses.