Six Australian Olympic swimmers risk forfeiture of their medals after positive drug test – eight years later
A sample provided by Brenton Rickard, who was part of the men’s 4×100-meter medley team that won bronze at the London Olympics in 2012, was ironed, revealing traces of furosemide, reported the Sydney Morning Herald
Furosemide is a masking agent and has been found in « extremely low concentration », according to lawyers for Rickard
The two-time Olympian emailed his teammates on Friday to confirm that the International Olympic Committee were seeking to disqualify his results, and therefore the team’s results, from the London Games
James Magnussen, Christian Sprenger, Hayden Stoeckel, Matt Targett, Tommaso D’Orsogna and Rickard all risk losing their medals
Rickard called the potential result « grossly unfair and disproportionate » given that he did not swim in the final
He maintains his innocence and told his teammates that the low concentration could be explained by several over-the-counter medications he took the week before the test
The 37-year-old will fight against the sanction during a hearing of the Court of Arbitration for Sport starting Monday, November 9 in Switzerland
Olympics, Brenton Rickard, Swimming, London 2012 Summer Olympics, Christian Sprenger, Australia, James Magnussen
World News – UA – Australian Olympic swimmers might have medals stripped due to a positive drug test