Italian Fencer Kicked Off Olympic Team

After testing positive for a banned substance, Italian fencing team member, Andrea Baldini, has been kicked off of the squad and will not participate in the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.  What’s interesting is that, to me, this seemed so strange because he tested positive for a diuretic at last month’s European championships in Ukraine.  I wondered why a diuretic would be on the banned substance list and then I learned that it can actually be used to mask the use of performance-enhancing drugs. 

It’s really sad because he was considered a real contender for the gold medal (he won silver at both the 2006 and 2007 world championships).  Of course, Baldini maintains his innocence:  “I can walk with my head held high, because I’m clean.  I did not voluntarily take any drug.”  He explained at a press conference that he had taken an antibiotic, prescribed by the federation’s doctor and declared the medication before the anti-doping test.

The timing is terrible and even Baldini raised questions: “the fact that this news comes out today, 24 hours before my departure for the Games, makes me think.”  Could he have been set up?  Stranger things have happened!  To be extra sure, the Italian federation has requested the “B” sample be analyzed and announced it was starting its own investigation.

In the meantime, the federation announced that Baldini would be replaced by Andrea Cassara, a double medallist at the 2004 Athens Olympics.