Norwegian skier stripped of wins over asthma mistake
AFP - [email protected]
Published: 21 Jul, 2016 CET.
Updated: Thu 21 Jul 2016 09:00 CET
Norwegian cross country skier Martin Sundby was on Wednesday deprived of his wins in the 2015 Tour de Ski and banned for two months for using a banned asthma drug.
The Norwegian federation held their hands up to the mistake after the ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
In a statement the federation explained: "CAS has ruled that Martin Johnsrud Sundby violated the (World Anti-Doping Agency) rules for illegal use of an anti-asthma medication, Ventoline.
"The Norwegian ski federation accepts full responsibility in this affair because the federation thought that it wasn't necessary to ask for a medical dispensation to take this medication."
The federation's doctor Knut Gabrielsen told a press conference that 31-year-old Sundby had suffered from asthma since childhood.
Traces of the banned substance were detected in an anti-doping control Sundby took at Davos in December 2014 and at Toblach in January 2015.
CAS accepted he had not taken the drug as a performance enhancer.
But for breaking the rules he was handed a two month ban, starting on July 11 and deprived of wins in the Tour de Ski and World Cup in the 2014/2015 season.
Comments
See Also
The Norwegian federation held their hands up to the mistake after the ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
In a statement the federation explained: "CAS has ruled that Martin Johnsrud Sundby violated the (World Anti-Doping Agency) rules for illegal use of an anti-asthma medication, Ventoline.
"The Norwegian ski federation accepts full responsibility in this affair because the federation thought that it wasn't necessary to ask for a medical dispensation to take this medication."
The federation's doctor Knut Gabrielsen told a press conference that 31-year-old Sundby had suffered from asthma since childhood.
Traces of the banned substance were detected in an anti-doping control Sundby took at Davos in December 2014 and at Toblach in January 2015.
CAS accepted he had not taken the drug as a performance enhancer.
But for breaking the rules he was handed a two month ban, starting on July 11 and deprived of wins in the Tour de Ski and World Cup in the 2014/2015 season.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.