Iga Swiatek has a positive attitude towards doping | Relief

New earthquake in tennis. Although Jannik Sinner’s case is still pending before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, A new positive threatens to split the foundations of tennis: this is Iga Swiatekthe best tennis player of the last five years, former number one and winner of five Grand Slam titles.

As announced this Thursday by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), Swiatek tested positive for trimetazidine in Augustprohibited substance during an out-of-competition test. However, after investigating the case, the authorities decided to impose a minimum sanction of just one month, as they did not appreciate the negligence on his part.

“ITIA recognizes that The positive result was due to contamination of a regulated over-the-counter drug (melatonin).manufactured and sold in Poland, which the player took due to jet lag and sleep problems. Therefore, the violation was not intentional,” the department said in a statement.

“With respect to the player’s level of culpability, given that the contaminated product was a regulated and over-the-counter drug in her country of origin, and taking into account all the circumstances of its use (and other uses of contaminated products covered by the World Anti-Doping Code), The player’s level of culpability was considered to be the lower end of the “No Substantial Fault or Negligence” range.

“adds ITIA.

WADA may appeal sanctions

Swiatek, 23, It was temporarily suspended from September 12 to October 4.missing three Asian Tour tournaments. These days count towards the sanction, so She now has eight more days to spend away from competition. However, the tennis season has already ended, and the sanctions are unlikely to have any impact on the career of the Polish player.

Having accepted a monthly sanction, Swiatek waives the right to appeal or otherwise challenge the ITIA decision. However, the matter may not be completed yet, since the so-calledBoth the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Polish Anti-Doping Agency (POLADA) can refer the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).. This is exactly what the AMA did to Sinner after the ITIA left the world number one in closteball unsanctioned. The Italian’s case is still not solved.

In any case, in response to Relevo’s question, the body that regulates doping worldwide assured that, as in all cases, it would “carefully” review the situation with Swiatek and reserves “the right, if necessary, to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).”“.

Swiatek’s version of his positivity

The defending Roland Garros champion posted a video on her social media as soon as the ITIA statement came to light and declared her innocence. “I want to share with you what was the worst experience of my life.

Over the past two and a half months, I have been subjected to a rigorous ITIA process that has proven my innocence. The only positive drug test of my career, which showed an incredibly low level of an illegal substance that I had never heard of before. It challenged everything I had worked so hard for my entire life.“, said the current number two in the world ranking.

“My team and I had to deal with a lot of stress and anxiety. Now everything is explained in detail and I can get back to what I love most. I know I will be stronger than ever. I’m glad it’s over. I want to be honest with you, even though I know I didn’t do anything wrong. Out of respect for my fans and the public, I am sharing all the details of this longest and most difficult tournament in my career. My greatest hope is that you will continue with me.“.

What is trimetazidine, the substance he tested positive for?

According to the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Substances, trimethadizine This is a drug used exclusively to treat adults with stable angina that is not well controlled. or not tolerate first-line antianginal therapy. It is a relatively dangerous substance as it can have neurological side effects such as Parkinson’s disease, restless leg syndrome, tremors or gait instability. This is why, as of 2012, it is no longer used to treat other conditions such as visual impairment or dizziness.

In 2014, WADA added trimetazidine to its list of prohibited substances.due to its properties as a “hormonal and metabolic modulator”. That is trimetazidine It increases blood flow to the heart and also limits changes in blood pressure without causing changes in heart rate. Thus, the athlete who uses this substance receives an improvement in the functioning of his cardiac system.