Simona Halep seemed to have identified the source of the Roxadustat that she tested positive for among the supplements she had been using, according to sources.
“It seems that the method by which Roxadustat entered the athlete’s body has been identified, namely by ingesting a contaminated food supplement,” said Cristian Jura, a Romanian judge working for CAS, according to ProSport.
“Contaminated product is a product that contains a prohibited substance, without this being specified on the product label or in information accessible through a reasonable search on the Internet.
“The athlete is still at this moment between the lifting of the suspension, i.e. the removal of any sanctions, and the 4-year suspension from sports activity.
The suspension can be reduced or cancelled if the two conditions specified by the World Anti-Doping Code are met- to establish the way in which the substance entered the body and the athlete’s lack of intention to take the prohibited substance to improve performance.
One of the conditions was met, it was clearly established how the substance got into the athlete’s body. The athlete must also prove the lack of guilt and negligence. That is, the athlete or other person must prove that Simona did not know or suspect and could not reasonably have known or suspected, even by exercising the most careful caution, that she used or was administered prohibited substances or that he used prohibited methods,” he also said.
Halep was close to seeing her suspension lifted after a hearing before the International Tennis Integrity Agency. However, she would need to provide evidence that she accidentally ingested the banned substance.
Jura added: “Procedurally, there are several stages. First, there’s a preliminary hearing before the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
“At this stage it is possible to lift the athlete’s provisional suspension, taking into account the evidence that she ingested a contaminated supplement.
“But I would make an important clarification.
“Just as it is possible to lift the provisional suspension, so it can be maintained, very much depends on the evidence.”
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