Mauricio Fiol has requested that his “B” sample be tested after a doping control showed the presence of the banned substance Stanozolol last week in an “A” sample at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada.
According to a press release from the Peruvian Olympic Committee, the sample testing positive for Fiol was collected on July 12th. That timing is a revelation as well, as it is before swimming competition began in Toronto. Fiol won the silver medal in the 200 fly on July 14th and broke the Peruvian National Record in the process.
Under PASO rules (the organization that runs the Pan Am Games), the organization holds the authority to conduct doping controls on all athletes for the duration of the Event Period, which means the entire span of the Pan American Games. That’s why Fiol was able to be tested even outside of the 12-hour pre-competition window set forth by the World Anti-Doping Code. The Code allows for international governing bodies to define such event periods.
Stanzolol is a synthetic anabolic steroid that can be taken either as an injection or in the form of an oral tablet, which makes it unique among anabolic steroids. as compared to most anabolic steroids. It’s primary beneficial function is that it allows athletes to lose fat without the corresponding loss of muscle mass that often corresponds with dropping fat by other, approved, methods.
Under WADA processing rules, each urine sample collected is divided into an “A” portion and a “B” portion. If the “A” portion provides an adverse analytical result, the athlete can request that the “B” sample be tested to verify the control.
The statement, signed by Peru’s Olympic Chief de Mission Maggie Martinelli Montoya concludes that “The Peruvian Olympic Committee deeply regrets this situation, which affects not only the sportsman, but all Peruvian,s and expect everything to be resolved in the most
favorably within the rules.
Fiol has denied taking the substance, according to the press release, but was stripped of his silver medal and prevented from racing in the 100 fly final, where he was a favorite to land on a podium again.
There was no indication in the release that a later sample from Fiol tested positive, though he was likely tested again after his medal-winning 200 fly.
Fiol’s record has already been removed from the official Pan Am Games medals tables, but is still listed as 2nd on the official results page. If he is formally and finally stripped of his medal, Canadian Zack Chetrat would move to the silver, while Alec Page would move to the bronze. Brazil’s Leonardo de Deus won the gold and set a new Pan Am Games Record.
Was he definitely tested after winning his medal as well? If so, it seems strange that we haven’t heard whether it resulted in a failed test too.
Check his instagram. Dude is quite tubby 6 months ago and now looks like the hulk….suspicious
That’s nonsense. I’ve raced this kid on more than one occasion and he’s always been in supreme shape at taper meets. As with any athlete, you get in and out of shape depending on where you are in (or out of) a training cycle.
You just as well give it a shot. Rarely does the B sample differ from the A, but you can’t fault him from trying at this point.
A quick science question on the process. When an athlete gives his urine sample does he give two samples….The “A” sample into jar number 1 then “B” sample into jar number 2 or does he urinate once into one jar with the drug testers creating 2 samples from the original container? Would the level of Stanozolol differ from the start of the urine stream compared to the middle or the end?
What are benefits of asking for the B sample to be tested? Buying time? Is he questioning the lab? Does he want a Peruvian official to be present when they test the B sample? Has a B sample ever differed from an A sample.
It’s two samples from one jar.
People will ask for the second sample – the “B” sample – to be tested to verify the testing processes and to ensure that the “A” sample wasn’t contaminated.
It’s a bit of a “wing & prayer” thing. If you insist – as everyone does – that you aren’t doping then you have to also insist that there must have been a problem with the “A” sample. There were mistakes in the testing protocols, the sample tampered with, etc.
If you don’t ask for the “B” sample to be tested, you’re admitting guilt. Human nature is such that people very rarely due that.
Thanks M.
Yes, as M said, and as I understand it, the athlete urinates into one jar, and then that one jar is separated into an A and B sample.