Zero tolerance: Some questionable results from anti-doping case files

A gold medalist at the 1994 Goodwill Games, she tested positive in 2001 for steroids traced to “likely” contamination of nutrition aids. Arbitrators called her “a credit to her community and a role model to young women,” but ruled that her lack of intent to dope was immaterial.

Result: an eight-month suspension.

He was a top hurdler on the track and field team at the University of Florida in 2005 when he tested positive for Dexedrine, a medication for attention deficit disorder. Arbitrators agreed he was under the “mistaken belief” that he had provided paperwork for a waiver, but the school failed to file it.

Result: a one-year suspension.

27, Skier from Viehofen, Austria

Just before his cross-country relay at the 2006 Olympics, he suffered severe diarrhea. His physician, a former team doctor, advised by phone that he inject himself with a saltwater solution. Arbitrators agreed he was indeed seriously ill and his treatment could not have enhanced his performance.

Result: a one-year suspension, because the injection should have been done by a doctor.

The 400-meter racer and top hopeful for London’s 2012 Olympics missed three random drug tests. An independent disciplinary panel attributed it “only to forgetfulness.” Members called her one-year suspension “very harsh” for an athlete “who had no intention” of cheating.

Result: a threatened lifetime Olympics ban is pending.

While competing in Germany, she used an antibiotic skin cream on a foot infection. Her urine tested positive for “a low concentration” of a steroid in the cream. Arbitrators said it “did not enhance the athlete’s capacity,” she did not intend to cheat, but she was negligent.

Result: a one-year suspension.

28, Skier from Scotland

He took third in the slalom at the 2002 Winter Olympics but failed a drug test because he used a Vicks Vapor Inhaler made in the U.S., which unlike U.K. brands has a mild relative of a banned stimulant.

Result: a three-month suspension and forfeit of his Olympic bronze medal.

Source: Times reporting