logo
#

Latest news with #Thibus'

Olympian Cleared of Doping After Positive Test Came From Kissing Boyfriend
Olympian Cleared of Doping After Positive Test Came From Kissing Boyfriend

Miami Herald

time6 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.

French kisses: Fencer beats doping allegations with an unusual contamination explanation
French kisses: Fencer beats doping allegations with an unusual contamination explanation

Yahoo

time6 days ago

  • 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.

French kisses: Fencer beats doping allegations with an unusual contamination explanation
French kisses: Fencer beats doping allegations with an unusual contamination explanation

Los Angeles Times

time6 days ago

  • 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.

French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus escapes doping ban with kissing defense
French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus escapes doping ban with kissing defense

New York Post

time7 days ago

  • Sport
  • New York Post

French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus escapes doping ban with kissing defense

Doping? Nope, just kissing. The Court of Arbitration for Sport cleared French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus of doping charges after judges determined the contamination in her system came from kissing her former partner. The 33-year-old was initially suspended from fencing in early 2024 by the International Testing Agency after a test at the 2024 Challenge International de Paris showed ostarine, a selective androgen receptor modulator which can promote muscle and bone growth that is prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency, present in the results. Advertisement 3 Ysaora Thibus competed in the 2024 olympics. AP 'The CAS Panel considered the evidence and noted 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,' CAS wrote in a release on Monday. '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 Panel excluded that Ms Thibus intentionally ingested the ostarine in addition to being contaminated.' Advertisement After being cleared initially to compete for France at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where she finished fifth in the team foil event and 28th in the individual foil event, WADA appealed the decision, attempting to reject Thibus' kissing argument. The CAS then held a hearing for Thibus, a silver medalist at the Tokyo Games in 2021, in Switzerland in March, at which WADA requested four years of ineligibility. 3 Thibus attending the 40 Femmes Forbes event in March. Getty Images for Forbes France Thibus' partner at the time was consuming ostarine without her knowledge. Advertisement '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 governing body concluded. Thibus' defense -— and the subsequent CAS decision — are not unheard of when it comes to athletes and drug tests. 3 Ysaora Thibus at the French National Olympic Committee's Evening of Champions. AFP via Getty Images In 2009, Richard Gasquet escaped a doping ban when the tennis player convinced the International Tennis Federation he inadvertently took cocaine by kissing a woman in a nightclub.

Kissing defense saves French fencer from potential doping ban
Kissing defense saves French fencer from potential doping ban

USA Today

time7 days ago

  • Sport
  • USA Today

Kissing defense saves French fencer from potential doping ban

A French fencer has been cleared of doping allegations after arguing that she unknowingly ingested a banned substance via kissing. Ysaora Thibus, the 2022 world champion in women's foil, had been facing a four-year ban from competition after she tested positive in January 2024 for ostarine, an anabolic agent that has been prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) since 2008. She argued that the substance had entered her body via kisses with her then-romantic partner, U.S. fencer Race Imboden. WADA appealed Thibus' case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which effectively exonerated her in a ruling July 7. "The CAS Panel considered the evidence and noted 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," CAS said in a statement announcing the ruling. "The CAS Panel ruled that the (doping rules violation) for the presence of ostarine was not intentional, and that it is not questionable that Ms. Thibus bears no fault or negligence." Spokespeople for WADA did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Thibus, 33, has been under scrutiny for the better part of 18 months − including at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she had been expected to be among France's brightest stars. Thibus was suspended by the International Fencing Federation (FIE) immediately after her positive test in early 2024, then cleared by the federation's disciplinary panel in May 2024 − which opened the door for her to compete in Paris a few months later, pending appeal. She had been expected to vie for a medal but was upset in the round of 32. Along the way, WADA exercised its right to appeal the case to CAS, which generally serves as the final arbiter of sports disputes. CAS heard the case this spring and determined that "contamination through kissing" was a plausible explanation. Experts considered the amount of ostarine in the supplement that Imboden was taking, how the substance could spread via saliva and the cumulative effects of such exposure over an extended period of time. "At no time did we deviate from our course," Thibus' attorney, Joëlle Montlouis, told French news outlet L'Equipe. "From the first instance to the (CAS hearing), we maintained the same line, the same backbone, faithful to the reality of the facts." Thibus' kissing defense is one of several novel explanations that athletes have offered for how and why banned substances got into their bodies. In recent years, some of the most newsworthy contamination cases have revolved around food. Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva famously claimed she accidentally ingested the banned substance trimetazidine through a strawberry dessert given to her by her grandfather, while a group of Chinese athletes said they tested positive for metandienone, an anabolic steroid, after eating contaminated hamburgers. Contact Tom Schad at tschad@ or on social media @

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store