Olympic Fencer Cleared of Doping Charge as Panel Determines Kissing Her Boyfriend Was the Likely Cause

NEED TO KNOW

• French fencer Ysaora Thibus has been cleared of doping accusations following a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport
• Thibus was determined to have tested positive for the banned substance because she had been kissing her boyfriend, who was ingesting the substance without her knowledge
• Thibus was facing a four-year ban from fencing before the appeal was dismissed by the CAS

Ysaora Thibus, a fencer on the French Olympic team, has been cleared of accusations of doping after it was determined she tested positive for the banned substance because she had been kissing her boyfriend.

Thibus, 33, was facing a four-year ban and had been suspended from fencing after a doping control test in January 2024 revealed she had ostarine, a banned substance, in her system.

Ostarine is an officially banned substance and can mimic the effects of testosterone and anabolic steroids, telling the muscles to grow, according to WebMD.

In June 2024, the Doping Disciplinary Tribunal (DDT) said it determined Thibus "was found to bear no fault or negligence and did not impose any period of ineligibility."

But the World Anti-Doping Agency disagreed, and rejected Thibus' defense that her boyfriend had been ingesting the substance without her knowledge. The agency appealed the DDT's decision in July 2024, asking the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to ban Thibus for four years.

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A year later, Thibus was cleared. On Monday, July 7, the CAS said it has dismissed the appeal after an in-person hearing took place at its headquarters in Switzerland.

"The CAS Panel considered the evidence and noted that it is scientifically established that the intake of an ostarine dose similar to the dose ingested by Ms Thibus’ then partner would have left sufficient amounts of ostarine in the saliva to contaminate a person through kissing," the statement from the CAS said.

The CAS also said they "accepted that Ms. Thibus' then-partner was taking ostarine" and that there was "contamination over 9 days with a cumulative effect," in the statement. "The CAS Panel ruled that the ADRV for the presence of ostarine was not intentional, and that it is not questionable that Ms Thibus bears no fault or negligence. The DDT decision is upheld and the appeal is dismissed."

Thibus competed in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, finishing in fifth place in her event. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Thibus won a silver medal in the team foil event.

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