Brazilians Qualify for the Olympics but Lose their spot Due to Doping Process Error
Trio that won spots on the tracks may miss Paris because tests did not follow international standards
When Livia Avancini saw the list of athletes qualified for the Olympics and her name wasn’t on it, she was stunned. Ranked third in Brazil for shot put, she had earned a spot in the Games, but felt her Olympic dream vanish suddenly.
The feeling, she described, was a mix of helplessness, despair, and sadness. Livia, Max Batista (racewalking), and Hygor Gabriel (4x100m relay) are in the same situation: all three achieved qualifying marks on the tracks that guaranteed their trip to Paris, but may be excluded from the Games because, according to World Athletics, they were not subjected to three surprise anti-doping tests within ten months before the Olympics.
The responsibility for the testing lay with ABCD (Brazilian Doping Control Authority), based on names sent by CBAt (Brazilian Athletics Confederation). The rule of three tests is new. It was defined in February this year by World Athletics, which, accepting a recommendation from the Athletics Integrity Unit – responsible for anti-doping in athletics – imposed on athletes from Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Portugal the obligation to undergo three surprise tests in the ten months leading up to the Games.
The decision was made at the time because Brazilians had competed in recent world championships with an insufficient average of testing. On Monday (8), the president of CBAt, Walmir Motta Campos, stated that he had appealed to World Athletics to clear the trio, but the entity denied the request. Now, the case will be taken to the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) in Switzerland.