Lotte Friis fears possible doping conviction

The Danish world champion Lotte Friis tells sporten.dk, that she fears the possibility of a positive doping test, because she cannot control 100% what she eats. She is backed up by Jens Evald chairman of the Danish Anti Doping Association, who says that there is a hole in the current WADA regulation, making innocent athletes nervous while allowing offenders to get away with a ‘beef excuse’.

We have heard several stories recently, about for instance Tour de France winner Alberto Contador testing positive with tiny amounts of Clenbuterol, being suspended and proposed a one year ban, but then cleared of all charges by the Spanish Cycling Federation, following his appeal that the amount was so minimal, and must have gotten into his system from contaminated food.

Today, as similar event happened in Netherlands, where Dutch mountain biker Rudi van Houts is not acquitted but convicted without punishment, after testing positive with Clenbuterol in late October of 2010. This was immediately after returning from a trip to Mexico, where they now believe he must have gotten the product by eating contaminated food.

And there was a similar story from Germany two months ago, where 22 out of 28 German bicycle racers were tested positive with Clenbuterol, immediately after returning from a trip to China. German anti-doping agency NADA then issued a press release and Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln a travel advisory, warning athletes planning and preparing to travel to China.

Lotte Friis has just recently returned from an altitude camp in Mexico with the entire Danish national team, so her fears are most relevant. Jens Evald chairman of the Danish Anti Doping Association states that it is a clear lack in the current regulation, cited in legal decisions from both Italy and Germany, that there is no lower limit, concerning these products that you can get from contaminated food.

There is a need for the WADA report out. Otherwise we stand to lose a lot of cases where athletes are acquitted because of this explanation. It requires a clear message from WADA on how doping authorities must behave.