The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has lifted the provisional suspension of Russian bobsleigh athlete Nadezhda Sergeeva, stating that “a contaminated product” led to her failed doping test at the 2018 Olympics.
Sergeeva, who represented the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) in PyeongChang, was disqualified in February after the banned substance trimetazidine was detected in her doping probe.
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The athlete finished 12th in the two-woman bobsled competition, and admitted the anti-doping rule violation, which saw her Olympic records annulled by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The 31-year-old athlete filed an appeal to CAS attempting to overturn the punishment, blaming negligence for the failed test.
On Monday, CAS ruled in Sergeeva’s favor, stating that “the athlete’s Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) likely resulted from a contaminated product.”
“On 5 October 2018, the provisional suspension was lifted by CAS on that basis, as it is undisputed between the parties to the procedure that the Athlete’s ADRV likely resulted from a contaminated product,” the CAS said in a statement.
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“The CAS procedure continues in order to determine the possible sanctions and a Final Award concerning this point will be issued as soon as possible.”
With the ban being lifted the bobsledder will be eligible to compete in the new season.