FINA to lift ban on two swimmers
FINA to lift ban on two swimmers
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP): World swimming's governing body
said on Tuesday it is ready to lift the four-year suspensions
given to two swimmers who tested positive for nandrolone, citing
new evidence that the steroid could have been present in meat
they consumed.
Any roll-back of the suspension could have wider implications
for the numerous cases of positive nandrolone findings among
elite athletes.
Long-distance swimmers David Mecca-Medina of Spain and Igor
Majcen of Slovenia were suspended in August, 1999, by FINA after
testing positive for the steroid.
The two subsequently lost an appeal against the ban on Feb. 29
in the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.
The swimmers argued that the positive tests came after they
ate meat of uncastrated pigs in a local dish called "sarapatel"
before an open-water meet in Brazil.
In a statement Tuesday, FINA said lawyers for Mecca-Medina and
Majcen offered evidence that recent tests carried out in Belgium
showed three volunteers had eaten a meal of boar meat and
subsequently showed signs of nandrolone metabolites.
FINA said the results "warrant further examinations which may
lead to a review" of the suspensions.
FINA said the lawyers for the two swimmers would file a
"revision petition" with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. FINA
said if the CAS agreed to review the case the bans would be
temporarily lifted.
FINA said the International Olympic Committee's Medical
Commission would be asked to conduct further tests.
FINA said it had agreed to the review to "contribute to fair
experiments in order to remove any possible uncertainties with
regar to finds of nandrolone metabolites."
Nandrolone, a common steroid that has been available for
decades and is easily detectable in standard urine tests,
produced a total of 343 positive cases across all sports last
year.
Among the high-profile athletes who have tested positive for
nandrolone are former Olympic 100-meter champion Linford
Christie, former world 200-meter champion Merlene Ottey and
former Olympic 5,000-meter gold medalist Dieter Baumann.
In March, track and field's world governing body announced it
would carry out research to determine whether food supplements or
herbal preparations can trigger positive tests for nandrolone.