FORMER WORLD CHAMPION HURDLER SHUBENKOV ESCAPES DOPING BAN
Former world champion hurdler Sergey Shubenkov has escaped a four year doping ban following the Athletics Integrity Unit referring his case to a disciplinary panel which found it to be “genuinely exceptional”.
Sergey had tested positive for acetazolamide, a masking agent on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances, which obviously meant he was going to stay away from the 2020 Olympic Games in July.
But with the result of the positive out-of-competition sample he returned in December 2020 following his plea to the tribunal, which he argued preparing the medicine left “invisible particles” in his kitchen.
“A child at this age cannot swallow, so the pills must have been prepared in certain way,” Shubenkov wrote in the post, which included a message of thanks for the AIU.
“The resulted in tiny almost invisible particles of powder being at my kitchen that have caused a positive test.
Luckily, it ended up nicely.”
The 30 year-old, Russian could be allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympics starting July 23 as a Neutral Athlete. The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has confirmed in a statement the Russian would serve no period of ineligibility.
“After a thorough investigation of the athletes explanation during results management process, the AIU accepted that the positive finding results from his unintentional ingestion of residue from medication being used to treat a family member,”
Sergey Vladimirovich Shubenkov won the World Athletics in 2015, he is also two time European Champion and won 2013 World bronze medal in men’s 110m hurdles.