The Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) has said that it had to sanction Kylie Palmer, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appeal against its decision not to sanction the Australian swimmer. Palmer, who took gold with the Australian 4x200m women’s relay team at the Beijing 2008 Olympics and silver at the London 2012 Olympics, has voluntarily accepted a provisional suspension under FINA’s anti-doping rules, and has withdrawn herself from the FINA World Championships, 24 July – August 9 in Kazan, Russia.

Swimming Australia expressed surprise at not receiving earlier notice of the violation, which occurred during the 2013 FINA World Championships in Barcelona. ‘Neither Swimming Australia nor Kylie received notice of this matter before April 2015’, it said in a statement issued today. However, FINA explained that it had internally cleared Palmer of doping in January 2014, only for WADA to appeal in a drawn out process that was not resolved until April this year.

‘On 31 July 2013, FINA conducted an in-competition doping control test on Ms Kylie Palmer, member of the Australian National Team with the occasion of the FINA World Championships held in Barcelona’, read a statement. ‘The sample provided by the athlete showed low levels of a prohibited substance’.

FINA said that under Doping Control Rule 7.1.2, the matter was forwarded to its Doping Control Review Board (DCRB) on 3 August 2013. ‘During its review, the FINA DCRB noted that on 1 August 2013, a random sample was obtained from the same competitor within 24 hours of the index test (31 July 2013). The competitor had earlier undergone blood testing on 25 July 2013, a further blood test was performed on 1 August 2013. All those tests proved negative.’

FINA said that as a consequence of this, the FINA DCRB sought additional information from the laboratory about the index test, and recommended that FINA conduct a further two targeted tests on the swimmer. ‘All those additional tests proved negative’, read its statement.

Due to the low levels of the prohibited substance detected and the absence of the substance in any subsequent test, FINA said that its DCRB ‘expressed concerns’ about proceeding with the case. In January 2014, it therefore recommended to FINA that no further action should be taken. However in February 2015, WADA asked FINA for information on the case.

‘FINA provided to WADA all the requested documents in this case’, read FINA’s statement. ‘Following review of those documents, WADA decided to file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration of Sport in Lausanne (SUI) and requested CAS to order FINA to bring forward the 31 July 2013 findings as an anti-doping rule violation in accordance with DC 7.1.3 et seq. Following WADA’s confirmation, on 13 April 2015 FINA sent correspondence to Ms Kylie Palmer and to Swimming Australia notifying about the positive test from Barcelona. The athlete requested the B sample analysis which also showed low levels of the prohibited substance. In accordance with the FINA DC Rules the matter of Ms Kylie Palmer has been forwarded to the FINA Doping Panel for further considerations and final decision.’