Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, has rejected the appeal by Italian runner Alex Schwazer against the decision to suspend his eight-year ban for anti-doping violations.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeal of Italian runner Alex Schwazer against the decision of the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of World Athletics (WA) of 10 November 2008. The contested decision, taken at the request of the Italian, was aimed at reducing the sanction period in accordance with Rule 10.7.1 (a) of the World Anti-Doping Code (WA ADR), which imposed an eight-year period of ineligibility from 11 August 2016. This sanction was imposed for his second doping violation. The WA rejected the Athlete’s “Substantial Assistance Request” following the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) adverse analytical finding in this matter, which led to the dismissal of the appeal by CAS.
As a result, the contested decision is upheld and the period of Ineligibility imposed on Alex Schwazer remains in effect.
Rule 10.7.1(a) of the WA ADR allows Athletes serving a period of Ineligibility to apply for a portion of that period to be suspended if they provide substantial assistance in the discovery or establishment of other ADR violations.
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The CAS panel has issued the operative part of its decision. The reasoned decision will be communicated to the parties in due course and will be made public by CAS, although the parties may request confidentiality.
The athlete’s suspension ends on 7 July, just 19 days before the start of the Olympic Games, leaving no time for him to potentially qualify.
The decision by the TAS comes just three months after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) also rejected his appeal, which the athlete, Olympic champion in the 50km walk at Beijing 2008, announced himself. “The decision wasn’t favourable. I think it’s a very wrong decision and I’m paying for not accepting the verdict of sports justice, for fighting for my innocence,” he said while training in the Big Brother house, where the lives of the contestants are recorded 24 hours a day.
Schwazer, 39, managed to get the Italian justice system to rule in his favour after five years of legal wrangling. The acquittal came in February 2021 and the Bolzano court dismissed the case for “not having committed the act”, but it was not taken into account and the confirmation by CAS prevents him from taking part in Paris 2024 as he cannot compete in the qualifying rounds. Prior to his 2016 suspension, the athlete had already been suspended for three years and nine months in 2012 for taking banned substances on the eve of the London Olympics, and had returned to competition in April 2016 at the World Walking Championships in Rome.
