News 1 April 2016

Sports Integrity Briefs – 1 April 2016

• Italian rugby union player Davide Vasta has been provisionally suspended by Italy’s National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO) after testing positive for 11 different substances. Italy’s Olympic Committee (CONI) confirmed that Vasta had tested positive for: testosterone, boldenone metabolite, drostanolone, mesterolone, methandienone, methasterone, methyldienolone, stenbolone metabolite, clomiphene metabolite, 19-noretiocholanolone and 19-norandrosterone. It is understood that Vasta, who plays for Amatori Catania in Italy’s third tier, took the substances over a year ago whilst bodybuilding.

• Bulgarian triple jumper Gabriela Petrova, runner up at the 2015 European Indoor Championships, has denied any wrongdoing after testing positive for meldonium, reports Reuters. Petrova told a news conference that she had stopped taking the substance in September last year. For a list of athletes facing charges after testing positive for meldonium, click here. In a Twitter post, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) spokesperson Ben Nichols said that 123 meldonim positives had been reported since the 2016 Prohibited List came into effect on 1 January.

Russian pharmacies have reported a recent dramatic rise in the demand for meldonium, reports Russia Beyond The Headlines. The website reports that sales of the drug have increased by 50% since tennis star Maria Sharapova tested positive in March.

• The Ecuadorian Olympic Committee (EOC) has asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to analyse the B sample taken from race walker Valeriy Borchin (pictured) at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, reports El Comercio. It is understood that the EOC supported a request of retired race walker, Jefferson Pérez, who took the silver medal in the 20km race walk at Beijing 2008, behind Borchin. The IAAF recently succeeded in an appeal against the selective annulment of Borchin’s results at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The IOC recently confirmed that samples given at the last two Olympic Games are being retested using techniques not available at the time.

• The Turkish Athletics Federation (TAF) has reportedly banned Elvan Abeylegesse for two years, according to Hurriyet Daily News. Abeylegesse took a silver medal in the 10,000m at the 2007 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships, plus silver in the 5,000m and 10,000m races in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She denies doping and is contesting a positive recorded by the IAAF, which re-analysed urine samples taken at the 2005 Helsinki and 2007 Osaka World Championships which confirmed 28 athletes with 32 adverse findings.

• Indian police have made four arrests in connection to a high volume of betting on the World Twenty20 cricket match between India and Australia on 27 March, reports News Nation.

• Russian medley and butterfly champion, Yana Martynova, has been issued with a four-year suspension after testing positive for ostarine on 18 July last year, reports Swimvortex. The Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) told the website it had not published the sanction as it had yet to receive a final decision from the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) or the Russian swimming federation.

• Zimbabwe’s High Court has dismissed an appeal lodged by Edzai Kasinauyo against his suspension for alleged involvement in match-fixing ahead of the 2017 African Cup of Nations (ACN) qualifying match between Zimbabwe and Swaziland. The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) provisionally expelled Kasinauyo for taking football matters to court on 30 March. A number of ZIFA officials have recently been implicated in match-fixing allegations.

• A federal court in Brazil has blocked funding for the construction of a Rio 2016 Olympic venue following suspicion that corruption may have occurred, reports Reuters. The venue concerned is understood to be the Olympic Deodoro complex, where 11 Olympic events will take place, including rugby sevens, BMX and kayaking.

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