Canadian Olympic wrestler caught doping.

The Olympic dreams of wrestler and Essex native Colin Daynes are over after he failed a drug test and has been banned from the sport for two years, it was announced Monday.

The 37-year-old Daynes, inducted into the Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame only last year, was banned from competition by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports after failing an in-competition drug test Dec.18 at the Canadian wrestling qualification trials in Winnipeg where he had won gold in the 74 kg division.

Daynes tested positive for boldenone, drostanolone, furosemide and tamoxifen, which each appear on the World AntiDoping Agency's list of prohibited substances.

Boldenone and drostanolone are anabolic steroids. Furosemide is a diuretic while tamoxifen is an estrogen receptor modulator that is generally used to mitigate the physical side-effects of steroid use.

Daynes waived his right to a hearing, acknowledged the anti-doping rule violation, and accepted the ban.

"I was trying to recover from an injury, so I was taking something," Daynes said.

Reached by The Star Monday night, Daynes said he was trying to recover from a partial tear to his bicep and an elbow problem in hopes of getting to the Games in London this year.

"That was the advice of the naturopathic doctor I was seeing," said Daynes, who now lives and works in real estate and renovations in Vancouver.

"I didn't understand it was banned. If I had, I wouldn't have competed."

Daynes was trying to represent Canada for the second time at the Olympics. He competed in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta where he finished 14th in the 68 kilogram division.

Daynes, who was scheduled to attend the Pan American Wrestling Championships next month, added, "There really is no defence to it.

"Either it's in your blood or not. Either it's in your system or not. It was a banned substance."

Daynes, who has also competed in mixed martial arts, mounted a wrestling comeback in 2008 and won the Olympic Trials, but also needed to qualify internationally to get to the event.

That bid came up short and this was to be his last Olympic effort, but the ban effectively ends his days of competing.

The ban is backdated and will expire Dec. 18, 2013.

"I was hoping for a last crack," Daynes said. "This puts it out of the question. I'm too old and it's time to shut it down."

Daynes had been told earlier by the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association about the ban and contacted Bill Hogarth, who coached him in high school at Essex.

"It's unfortunate," Hogarth said. "It's kind of a tough way to end the whole thing and it's too bad. There was no intent to defraud anyone."

Hogarth hopes this incident doesn't tarnish Daynes' reputation. "I'm sure it won't," Hogarth said.

A high school star, Daynes attended Brock University and won four Canadian Interuniveristy Sports national titles in four weight classes. He finished his career with 62 gold, 11 silver and five bronze medals.

"Yeah, for sure, I still hold my head high," Daynes said.