US Olympic boxer Virginia Fuchs escaped a possible four-year ban after the United States Anti-Doping Agency found that the doping substance found in her urine sample was due to a sexual intercourse with her boyfriend. Fuchs was found positive for two substances, letrozole metabolite and GW1516 metabolite, during an out-of-competition urine test on 13 February.
As per the rules the punishment for the use of banned substances is a four-year ban from all World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) compliant sports.
Fuchs' Boyfriend Used Banned Substance for Therapeutic Purpose
In a ruling announced on Thursday, USADA cleared the 32-year-old pugilist of the charges. Fuchs, who missed out qualifying for the Rio Olympics in 2016, is now aiming at qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics as a flyweight.
"During a thorough investigation into the circumstances of Fuchs' case, USADA determined that Fuchs' male partner was using therapeutic doses of letrozole and GW1516 and the low amounts of letrozole metabolite and GW1516 metabolites detected in her sample were consistent with recent exposure to the substances via sexual transmission. Additionally, a WADA-accredited laboratory confirmed that products possessed by Fuchs' partner contained therapeutic amounts of letrozole and GW1516," USADA said in a press release.
Insisting that USADA confirmed Fuchs' violation only because it was required to do so, agency's CEO Travis Tygart said: "While the World Anti-Doping Code requires that this no-fault finding be considered a violation and be publicly announced, we strongly believe this case and others like it, including meat contamination and prescription medication contamination cases, should be considered no violation."
"We will continue to advocate for changes to the World Anti-Doping Code so that where there is no intent to cheat and no performance benefit, an athlete should not face any violation or unnecessary public attention," he went on to add.
Fuchs Was Surprised at Testing Positive for Banned Substance
Fuchs, who learned about being tested positive for the banned substance in March, said she was relieved of being cleared. Expressing her gratitude to USADA, the pugilist tweeted: "I'm relieved that once USADA completed an extensive investigation, they found that my case was unique and therefore gave me a No Fault ruling, allowing me to return to competition. This has been a huge lesson for me and now that (it's) over, I'm fully focused on preparing for Tokyo."
Later, speaking to FOX 26, Fuchs expressed complete surprise over being evaluated positive. "When I was first notified back in March when I had these prohibited substances in me, I was in complete shock and had no idea where they had come from, knowing I had never ingested anything," she said.
