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According to national TV News and various newspapers, a female jûdôka previously stripped of her world championship medal and having had a 2-year doping ban after testing positive for cocaine following last year's Rio World championships, has partially won her case before the Court of Arbitration of Sport, meaning her suspension is lifted but she is still stripped of her medal.
The judoka argued that she never had knowingly taken any cocaine and the positive result was caused by accidental inhalation while going out and visiting a bar. The IJF previously rejected the argument despite a university toxicology professor showing that hair analysis of the jûdôka showed no habitual use of cocain. Traces in the hair started only around that date and that decreased suggesting a one-time use of extremely small amounts.
From a scientific point of view, indeed, it is clear that the jûdôka was not a habitual coke user. Of course the argument remains that it is still possible for someone to use doping only a single time in their life ...
This seems to also have been the reasoning of the Court who seems to argue that the punishment was disproportional, yet a violation still occurred. The judgment shows some similarities to those cases where criminal courts find a person technically guilty but do not impose any sentence.
Although news reports indicated an 'acquittal' and that he "won her case", I am not sure if this really and literally is an 'acquittal'. An acquittal seems to require that the the judgement should also have involved a "not guilty" hence a "no punishment" consequence. As the Court seems to have decided that a violation did occur hence why the decision of a stripped medal stayed in place, it does not seem to be equal to an acquittal.
During the ordeal her judo federation kept supporting the jûdôka. Her ordeal is now over. The precise argumentation in the judgment is not yet known as it has not yet been published. In any case, the "(partial) acquittal" is good news for her, and hopefully she can take up her life again and make a successful comeback.
In a new twist though, it seems that there also exists a criminal complaint in which it is suggested that she was set up by a member of her team. There certainly exist other cases where jûdôka have been set up, but it will be waiting what turns up. Given that doping violations are announced only months after the event occurred, which took place also in another continent, it is unlikely that any decent forensic examination could still take place.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- ******** judoka ***************** won her appeal against a two-year doping ban but was stripped of her bronze medal from the 2013 world championships by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday.
*********** tested positive for banned cocaine metabolites after winning a bronze medal in the under-XX kilogram class at the worlds in Rio de Janeiro last August. The International Judo Federation banned her for two years and disqualified her worlds results, but ************** appealed to CAS, saying she was the victim of sabotage.
CAS agreed, noting ************'s complaint of harassment against a member of her entourage and, since the positive test, an ongoing investigation of a criminal complaint.
CAS said van ****************** was not a cocaine user, and upheld her appeal because "the scenario of sabotage by a malicious third party was ... the most likely scenario."
However, her disqualification at the worlds stood because there was a doping violation.
*********** also won a medal at the London Olympics.
The judoka argued that she never had knowingly taken any cocaine and the positive result was caused by accidental inhalation while going out and visiting a bar. The IJF previously rejected the argument despite a university toxicology professor showing that hair analysis of the jûdôka showed no habitual use of cocain. Traces in the hair started only around that date and that decreased suggesting a one-time use of extremely small amounts.
From a scientific point of view, indeed, it is clear that the jûdôka was not a habitual coke user. Of course the argument remains that it is still possible for someone to use doping only a single time in their life ...
This seems to also have been the reasoning of the Court who seems to argue that the punishment was disproportional, yet a violation still occurred. The judgment shows some similarities to those cases where criminal courts find a person technically guilty but do not impose any sentence.
Although news reports indicated an 'acquittal' and that he "won her case", I am not sure if this really and literally is an 'acquittal'. An acquittal seems to require that the the judgement should also have involved a "not guilty" hence a "no punishment" consequence. As the Court seems to have decided that a violation did occur hence why the decision of a stripped medal stayed in place, it does not seem to be equal to an acquittal.
During the ordeal her judo federation kept supporting the jûdôka. Her ordeal is now over. The precise argumentation in the judgment is not yet known as it has not yet been published. In any case, the "(partial) acquittal" is good news for her, and hopefully she can take up her life again and make a successful comeback.
In a new twist though, it seems that there also exists a criminal complaint in which it is suggested that she was set up by a member of her team. There certainly exist other cases where jûdôka have been set up, but it will be waiting what turns up. Given that doping violations are announced only months after the event occurred, which took place also in another continent, it is unlikely that any decent forensic examination could still take place.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- ******** judoka ***************** won her appeal against a two-year doping ban but was stripped of her bronze medal from the 2013 world championships by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday.
*********** tested positive for banned cocaine metabolites after winning a bronze medal in the under-XX kilogram class at the worlds in Rio de Janeiro last August. The International Judo Federation banned her for two years and disqualified her worlds results, but ************** appealed to CAS, saying she was the victim of sabotage.
CAS agreed, noting ************'s complaint of harassment against a member of her entourage and, since the positive test, an ongoing investigation of a criminal complaint.
CAS said van ****************** was not a cocaine user, and upheld her appeal because "the scenario of sabotage by a malicious third party was ... the most likely scenario."
However, her disqualification at the worlds stood because there was a doping violation.
*********** also won a medal at the London Olympics.
