Andrea Baldini’s suspension from fencing was upheld today by the FIE Tribunal and the sentence of a 6 month suspension verified. This means that Baldini’s suspension was actually concluded in February and he will be able to start fencing on the FIE circuit with the next event.
Baldini had always professed his innocence and the Public Prosecutor of Livorno concluded that the Italian foilist’s water bottle was tampered with and that Baldini took a banned substance without his knowledge.
Baldini was a medal favorite for the 2008 Beijing Olympics but was banned from competing due to the anti-doping violation. He had previously won silver in the 2006 and 2007 world championships.
{sidebar id=1}Belfast, 10 April 2009
The International Fencing Federation (FIE) announced today that the Italian fencer Andrea Baldini has committed an anti-doping rule violation. The violation occurred during the competition held in Kiev on 9 July 2008.
The anti-doping violation is a result of the athlete’s urine sample returning an adverse analytical finding for Furosemide, a “Specified Substance” in the 2009 WADA Prohibited List. “Specified substances” are those substances which are generally available in medicinal products or are less likely to be abused as doping agents.
Under the 2009 FIE Anti-Doping Rules, when a fencer can establish that a first anti-doping rule violation involving a “specified substance” was not intended to enhance his / her sport performance, the sanction may range from a warning and reprimand to a two-year period of ineligibility.
Taking into consideration the special circumstances of this matter:
– the athlete has never tested positive despite frequent in and out-of-competition testing
– the athlete has been provisionally suspended since 4 September 2008
– as a consequence, he was ineligible from participating in the 2008 Olympic Games
The Tribunal noted (whilst not being bound by them) the findings of the Public Prosecutor of Livorno that an unknown third party was responsible for the athlete taking the substance without his knowledge.
The Tribunal unanimously found that the athlete had committed an anti-doping violation under article 2.1 of the FIE 2009 anti-doping rules for which he is sanctioned according to article 10.4 with a period of ineligibility of six(6) months.
The Tribunal ordered that the sanction should commence from 4 September 2008, being the date when the provisional suspension started.
Andrea Baldini’s 6 month suspension began on September 4th, 2008, which means that he is now eligible to fence in FIE competitions.
