In August 2003 the Pan American Sports Organisation (PASO) has reported an anti-doping violation against the Argentinean Athlete Ulf Lienhard after his A and B samples tested positive in the WADA accredited Montreal laboratory in Canada for the prohibited substance cocaine. The Athlete initiated his own test for cocaine and provided samples to the Centre for Toxicological Research in Buenos Aires. The results were negative.
The International Federation of Rowing Associations notified the Athlete and ordered a provisional suspension. The Athlete filed a statement in his defence and was heard for the FISA Commission of Enquiry.
The Athlete stated he never took cocaine and that the presence of cocaine in his body can only result from contamination. He stressed that the level of cocaine metabolites found in his urine was very low and that it could not enhance his performance. He believes that this contamination could have come from two possible sources. One was the food and drinks which were available at the Athletes’ hotel or at the rowing course where no strict protection measures were in place. The other possibility could have been through skin absorption mainly with $US banknotes that the athlete had been handling in certain transactions during the few days preceding the competition.
Considering Athletes explanation and the evidence, the FISA Executive Committee concludes that the Athlete failed to rebut the presumption of guilt resulting from the presence of a prohibited substance in his body. Therefore the FISA Executive Committee decides to impose a 2 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete starting on the date of the sample collection, i.e. 10 August 2003.
