Related case:
CAS 2016_A_4803 Ekaterina Gnidenko vs IOC & UCI | Maria Abakumova vs IOC | Tatyana Lebedeva vs IOC & WADA
July 25, 2018
Ms. Maria Abakumova is a Russian Athlete competing in the javelin throw event at the Beijng 2008 Olympic Games.
In 2016, the IOC decided to perform further analyses on certain samples collected during the 2008 Olympic Games. These additional analyses were performed with analytical methods which were not available in 2008.
In May 2016 the International Olympic Committee reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Athlete after her 2008 A and B samples tested positive for the prohibited substance dehydrochlormthyltestosterone (turinabol).
After notification the Athlete filed a statement in her defence and she was heard for the IOC Disciplinary Commission.
The Athlete alleges that she never used intentionally any prohibited substances and/or methods and always strictly followed her doctor’s recommendations. The Athlete stated that she had taken proteins, fat regulators and multi-vitamins, with the permission of her doctor and after consultation with a specialist. She stated that these products were produced in the USA and were provided to her by Dr Rodchenkov, who had been head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory at that time and in whom she had placed her full trust. She had also been given some other vitamins, produced in Russia, but these had been tested and registered to the best of her knowledge.
In addition supported by an expert witness the Athlete disputed the irregulatities with the opening and splitting of her samples and the competence and capability of the laboratory.
The Commission dismissed the arguments of the Athlete and her expert witness and finds that the analytical method and results are valid and beyond question and concludes that the Athlete has committed an anti-doping violation with the intention to enhance her sport performance.
The Commission notes that the presence of metabolites of this particular substance has been established in a remarkably high number of cases, which resulted from the re-analysis of the samples collected in Beijing 2008 and London 2012. This constitutes an indication that this substance has been in widespread use by athletes.
Therefore the IOC Disciplinary Commission decides on 5 September that the Athlete Maria Abakumova:
1.) is found to have committed an anti-doping rule violation pursuant to the IOC Anti- Doping Rules applicable to the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing in 2008 (presence and/or use, of a Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers in an athlete’s bodily specimen),
2.) is disqualified from the events in which she participated upon the occasion of the Olympic Games Beijing 2008, namely, the javelin throw event in which she ranked 2nd and was awarded the silver medal, and
3.) has the silver medal, the diploma and the medallist pin obtained in the javelin throw event withdrawn and is ordered to return same.
4.) The IAAF is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned event accordingly and to consider any further action within its own competence.
5.) The Russian Olympic Committee shall ensure full implementation of this decision.
6.) The Russian Olympic Committee shall notably secure the return to the IOC, as soon as possible, of the silver medal, the diploma and the medallist pin awarded in connection with the javelin throw event to the Athlete.
7.) This decision enters into force immediately.
