Latest news with #Thibus
Miami Herald
7 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Olympian Cleared of Doping After Positive Test Came From Kissing Boyfriend
An Olympian's doping suspension has been thrown out after it was deemed the silver medalist tested positive for a banned substance after kissing her boyfriend. French fencer Ysaora Thibus, who won a silver medal in team foil at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, had been given a four-year suspension after testing positive for ostarine, a prohibited muscle-building substance, in January 2024. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed the suspension on Monday, July 7, finding "that it is scientifically established that the intake of an ostarine dose similar to the dose ingested by Ms Thibus' then partner would have left sufficient amounts of ostarine in the saliva to contaminate a person through kissing." Thibus' then-boyfriend, United States fencer Race Imboden, was taking ostarine at the time of the positive drug test. The presence of ostarine in Thibus' test was ruled "not intentional," and CAS ruled she "bears no fault or negligence." CAS dismissed an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which was seeking a four-year suspension. Thibus was still able to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris after the International Fencing Federation's doping disciplinary tribunal (DDT) found her not liable, where she finished fifth in the team foil event. She and Imboden, who was inducted into the U.S. Fencing Hall of Fame last month, have not been pictured together since last year. Thibus reflected on her unique Olympic journey in a social media post after the Summer Games in her home country. "This year, I have shown immense courage and unwavering perseverance!" she wrote in September 2024 alongside a picture of herself standing in front of the Arc de Triomphe. "I have had to fight against injustice, injury, and time!! ." Thibus recognized those who "believed in me, in my truth, and who never stopped supporting me." In particular, Thibus thanked members of the French national fencing team for their faith in her story. "I can never thank you enough," she wrote. "You made the courageous choice to keep me on the team, when everything seemed uncertain just days before the competition. This gesture is the greatest recognition of my career. You proved to me that, in this world of performance, there is also room for humanity." Thibus added, "Life is full of uncertainties, but I will never stop aiming high. Hard work, resilience, and hope have brought me to where I am. I am convinced that I still have many beautiful pages to write, in sport and beyond!" Copyright 2025 Us Weekly. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
French kisses: Fencer beats doping allegations with an unusual contamination explanation
French fencer Ysaora Thibus, shown in 2022, was cleared of doping charges after it was determined that kissing introduced a banned substance into her system. (Devin Manky / Getty Images) French fencing champion Ysaora Thibus was not to blame after she tested positive for a banned substance last year. The culprit? Nine days of contaminated kisses. That is what the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled this week when it dismissed an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which had been seeking a four-year ban for the 2022 world champion in women's foil after the prohibited anabolic substance ostarine was found in her blood during a January 2024 blood test. Advertisement The CAS said in a news release Monday that it accepted Thibus' explanation that the ostarine had entered her bloodstream because her then-partner had been using a product containing the substance without her knowledge. The two had exchanged bodily fluids through kissing. Read more: Steroids? Sure! Doping? Bring it on! 'Enhanced Games' push to be the Olympics* — with drugs The evidence "scientifically established that the intake of an ostarine dose similar to the dose ingested by Ms. Thibus' then partner would have left sufficient amounts of ostarine in the saliva to contaminate a person through kissing," the court said. "The Panel also accepted that Ms Thibus' then partner was taking ostarine from 5 January 2024, and that there was contamination over 9 days with a cumulative effect." The court concluded that Thibus had not intentionally violated the rules. "It is not questionable that Ms Thibus bears no fault or negligence," the news release states. Advertisement Thibus had maintained her innocence throughout the process. Joelle Montlouis, one of the fencer's attorneys, told French news outlet L'Equipe that the ruling was a "great victory" for her client. 'She showed remarkable courage and held firm, against all odds, until the end of the procedure," Montlouis said in French, translated via software. "At no time did we deviate from our course: From the first instance to the CAS, we maintained the same line, the same backbone, faithful to the reality of the facts.' Read more: Lopez: Three years away from the Olympics, L.A. is tripping over hurdles and trying to play catchup Ostarine was detected in Thibus' blood during an in-competition check by the International Testing Agency at a fencing event Jan. 14, 2024, in Paris. Advertisement The agency initially charged Thibus with an anti-doping rule violation, but an International Fencing Federation tribunal later cleared her and allowed her to compete in the Paris Olympics, where she was eliminated after the second round of competition. WADA, the anti-doping agency, rejected Thibus' kissing explanation and appealed the ITA decision in July 2024. The arbitration court held an in-person hearing in March before making its ruling. In a somewhat similar case in 2009, WADA and the International Tennis Federation appealed to have Richard Gasquet serve a two-year ban after testing positive for cocaine. But the arbitration court ruled in the French tennis player's favor, accepting his explanation that he inadvertently consumed the drug — which was present in a "minute" amount, the CAS said — by kissing a woman at a nightclub. 'I'm absolutely relieved," Gasquet said at the time. "This is the end of a crazy story.' Advertisement The Associated Press contributed to this report. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
French kisses: Fencer beats doping allegations with an unusual contamination explanation
French fencing champion Ysaora Thibus was not to blame after she tested positive for a banned substance last year. The culprit? Nine days of contaminated kisses. That is what the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled this week when it dismissed an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which had been seeking a four-year ban for the 2022 world champion in women's foil after the prohibited anabolic substance ostarine was found in her blood during a January 2024 blood test. The CAS said in a news release Monday that it accepted Thibus' explanation that the ostarine had entered her bloodstream because her then-partner had been using a product containing the substance without her knowledge. The two had exchanged bodily fluids through kissing. The evidence 'scientifically established that the intake of an ostarine dose similar to the dose ingested by Ms. Thibus' then partner would have left sufficient amounts of ostarine in the saliva to contaminate a person through kissing,' the court said. 'The Panel also accepted that Ms Thibus' then partner was taking ostarine from 5 January 2024, and that there was contamination over 9 days with a cumulative effect.' The court concluded that Thibus had not intentionally violated the rules. 'It is not questionable that Ms Thibus bears no fault or negligence,' the news release states. Thibus had maintained her innocence throughout the process. Joelle Montlouis, one of the fencer's attorneys, told French news outlet L'Equipe that the ruling was a 'great victory' for her client. 'She showed remarkable courage and held firm, against all odds, until the end of the procedure,' Montlouis said in French, translated via software. 'At no time did we deviate from our course: From the first instance to the CAS, we maintained the same line, the same backbone, faithful to the reality of the facts.' Ostarine was detected in Thibus' blood during an in-competition check by the International Testing Agency at a fencing event Jan. 14, 2024, in Paris. The agency initially charged Thibus with an anti-doping rule violation, but an International Fencing Federation tribunal later cleared her and allowed her to compete in the Paris Olympics, where she was eliminated after the second round of competition. WADA, the anti-doping agency, rejected Thibus' kissing explanation and appealed the ITA decision in July 2024. The arbitration court held an in-person hearing in March before making its ruling. In a somewhat similar case in 2009, WADA and the International Tennis Federation appealed to have Richard Gasquet serve a two-year ban after testing positive for cocaine. But the arbitration court ruled in the French tennis player's favor, accepting his explanation that he inadvertently consumed the drug — which was present in a 'minute' amount, the CAS said — by kissing a woman at a nightclub. 'I'm absolutely relieved,' Gasquet said at the time. 'This is the end of a crazy story.' The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
French Olympian Ysaora Thibus cleared of doping after successfully arguing she was contaminated through kissing her partner
Ysaora Thibus faced a four-year ban from competition after WADA contested her claim of contamination through kissing. () French Olympian Ysaora Thibus has been cleared of a doping charge and avoided a four-year ban after successfully arguing that she was contaminated with a banned substance through kissing her partner, former U.S. Olympian Race Imboden. Thibus, a member of the French fencing team, tested positive in January 2024 for ostarine, a substance that's believed to promote muscle and bone growth. It is not FDA approved and is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Advertisement A doping tribunal of the International Fencing Federation determined prior to the 2024 Olympics in Paris that Thibus bore no fault or negligence for ingesting the substance after she argued that she had been contaminated via an exchange of bodily fluids with Imboden. She'd claimed that Imboden had taken ostarine on Jan. 5. "I categorically deny that I have used doping," Thibus wrote after her positive test. "My many negative doping tests are proof of this." Thibus, a silver medalist at the Tokyo Games, was allowed to compete at the Paris Olympics in her home country. WADA has since appealed the decision to clear Thibus to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and asked CAS to reject the argument that she was contaminated by Imboden. Per The Athletic, WADA sought for Thibus to be disciplined with a "period of ineligibility of four years.' CAS held an in-person hearing of the appeal at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, in March. On Monday, a panel of CAS judges issued its verdict clearing Thibus of a doping violation. Advertisement Per the verdict obtained by the Guardian, CAS judges determined that 'it is scientifically established that the intake of an ostarine dose similar to the dose ingested by Ms. Thibus' then partner would have left sufficient amounts of ostarine in the saliva to contaminate a person through kissing.' The CAS judges also accepted that "Ms. Thibus' then-partner was taking ostarine from 5 Jan, 2024, and that there was contamination over nine days with a cumulative effect.' Thibus, 33, is cleared to compete in further international competition. She finished fifth in women's team foil in Paris and 28th in the women's individual foil. Imboden, a three-time Olympian fencer for Team USA and two-time Olympic bronze medalist (2016 and 2021), did not compete in the Paris Olympics.
The Star
07-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Fencing-French Olympic fencer cleared as CAS accepts positive test linked to kissing partner
Paris 2024 Olympics - Fencing - Women's Foil Team Classifications 5-8 - Grand Palais, Paris, France - August 01, 2024. Ysaora Thibus of France is seen during the bout against China. REUTERS/Albert Gea (Reuters) -The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has overturned French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus's four-year suspension for doping, ruling that her positive test for a banned substance was caused by kissing her then-boyfriend, American fencer Race Imboden. Thibus, silver medallist in team foil at the Tokyo Games, had tested positive for ostarine, a prohibited muscle-building substance, during a competition in Paris in January 2024. However, CAS concluded there was no intentional wrongdoing, finding it scientifically plausible that repeated kissing over several days with Olympic medallist Imboden — who was taking ostarine at the time — led to accidental contamination. The court dismissed an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which had sought a four-year suspension. The sport's top court instead upheld a previous ruling from the International Fencing Federation's doping disciplinary tribunal (DDT) that had already cleared Thibus of any fault. "The CAS Panel ruled that the antidoping rule violation for the presence of ostarine was not intentional, and that it is not questionable that Ms Thibus bears no fault or negligence," the court said in a statement. "The DDT decision is upheld and the appeal is dismissed." The case has drawn comparisons to an incident in 2009 involving French tennis player Richard Gasquet, who was exonerated after arguing that he had tested positive for cocaine after kissing someone at a nightclub. Thibus was able to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics following the initial DDT ruling, finishing fifth in the team foil event on home soil. (Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; editing by Clare Fallon)
