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Dominican weightlifter Yuderqui Contreras has cleared her name after the International Olympic Committee announced that Contreras’ B sample came up as negative during tests in Paris. Contreras’ A sample, taken shortly after the 2008 Beijing Olympics tested positive for the performance enhancing drug CERA. There had also been much controversy and suspicion surrounding Contreras because the weightlifter trained in Bulgaria under coach Constantin Darov, but the Bulgarian national team didn’t compete in weightlifting events because of a doping scandal. A negative result on her B sample clears any doubts about Contreras and ends months of embarrassment and accusations of cheating. “I can’t express my joy after I received the call from journalist Dionisio Soldevilla to tell me about the medical commission’s decision.” Contreras has always maintained her innocence and said she was confident she would be exonerated. She said she was not interested in winning a medal using banned substances. Yuderqui Contreras came fifth in the 53kg category in the Beijing Olympics.

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IOC Legal Department informed the IWF, the Dominican Olympic Committee as well as the athlete (Ms. Yudelquis Maridalin CONTRERAS) that under the current circumstamces – B sample analyses report did not confirm the A sample CERA positive – the scheduled hearing has been cancelled. The formal decision from the IOC will follow in due time.

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Examinations of the b-sample have confirmed that cyclists Stefan Schumacher and Davide Rebellin, as well as 1,500 metres Olympic champion Rashid Ramzi and two other athletes, have tested positive for the latest generation of the blood booster EPO. (FAZ), The German was caught for using CERA at retests of Tour de France 2008 samples and of those retested by the International Olympic Committee from the Beijing Olympics. Italy’s Rebellin, the Bahrain runner Ramzi, Greek walker Athanasia Tsoumeleka and Croatian 800m runner Vanja Perisic were also caught in the IOC retests, with the b-sample confirming the original finding, according to the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The former world champion Ramzi won 1,500m gold in Beijing while Rebellin got a cycling silver in China. The other three did not get medal, but Schumacher won both time trials at the 2008 Tour before being disqualified. Weightlifter Yudelquis Contreras of the Dominican Republic also submitted a positive a-sample, but the b-test was announced to be negative. The athlete was cleared. The IOC keeps drug samples for eight years and they are subject to retests when new test methods are introduced. The tests for CERA were made available after the Olympics last August. (Earth Times)
further details: http://www.olympic.org/uk/includes/common/article_print_uk.asp?id=3009