Washington (US) – US Olympic team boxer Virginia Fuchs has been vindicated of a doping violation after the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) found that the banned substances in her sample had been transmitted while she had sex with her boyfriend.
The 32-year-old flyweight had tested positive for two substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in an out-of-competition urine test on Feb. 13, the USADA said in a statement.
“The low amounts of letrozole metabolite and GW1516 metabolites detected in her sample were consistent with recent exposure to the substances via sexual transmission,” the USADA said.
USADA said Fuchs’s partner had been using therapeutic doses of the two substances and that Fuchs bore no fault or negligence for the adverse finding and would therefore not be banned.
“We strongly believe this case and others like it, including meat contamination and prescription medication contamination cases, should be considered no violation,” said USADA chief Travis Tygart.
Fuchs narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Rio Olympics in 2016 and is now eyeing next year’s delayed Tokyo Games.
“This has been a huge lesson for me and now that is over, I’m fully focused on preparing for Tokyo,” she tweeted.
If a sportsperson is found using banned substances, the usual punishment is a four-year ban from all WADA-compliant events.
In 2017, USADA let middle-distance runner Ajee Wilson off without a suspension after concluding that traces of an anabolic agent in her sample had actually come from contaminated beef.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field