The world’s #1 ranked men’s foil fencer Andrea Baldini failed a drug test and will not compete in the Beijing Olympics. The 22 year old Baldini has been removed from the Italian contingent to the Olympic Games following a positive drug test result from the European Championships in Kiev last month.
(Photo courtesy Serge Timacheff, fencingphotos.com)
Baldini tested positive for positive for the banned diuretic furosemide. Furosemide is more commonly known as Lasix and appears on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) banned drug list in its capacity as an alleged masking agent.
Baldini professed his innocense and the second "B" sample will be tested.
If tests on the second sample prove negative, Baldini will be reinstated to the Italian squad according to statements from Giorgio Scarso, president of the Italian Fencing Federation.
Andrea Cassara will replace Baldini at the Olympic Games in the Men’s Foil event. Cassara is currently ranked 3rd in the world standings based on his strong performance at the European Championships. Cassara had just missed out on qualification to the Olympic Games during the qualification period as he was ranked behind Baldini and Salvatore Sanzo.