Judo athlete Ana Rosa’s silver medal was upgraded to a gold medal after Brazilian Rafaela Silva was penalized for doping in the 57-kilo competition in the 2019 Pan Am Games. Brazilian Silva, Olympic champion in Rio 2016, was stripped of the gold medal she had won in the Lima, Peru Games for fenoterol, a bronchodilator banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Panam Sports reported on Wednesday, 25 September 2019.
Last Friday, at a press conference held in Rio de Janeiro, Rafaela Silva denied having cheated. “I’m clean,” said the 27-year-old judoca. “I don’t use that substance, I don’t have asthma, I don’t have anything, I don’t have authorization to use that substance,” said Silva, who believes she may have been contaminated by being in contact with the daughter of a friend who frequently visits the center where she trains.
“The only person who used that substance was the daughter of a friend of mine who trains at the Reaçao Institute (in Rio de Janeiro). I have this habit of letting babies suck my nose. In doing so, I inhale what she releases into my body. It could have been one of the ways,” she explained.
In addition to the Brazilian athlete, six other athletes tested positive for doping at the Lima Pan American Games, which were held from 26 July 26 to 11 August. This includes Dominican baseball players Audrey Perez and Osvaldo Abreu. Also Brazilian cyclist Kacio Fonseca, Puerto Rican bowler Jean Perez, Peruvian handball player Brian Cesar Paredes and Colombian basketball player Narlyn Tathiana Mosquera, Panam Sports said in a statement.
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Listin Diario
26 September 2019