Bonn (Germany), Dec 20 (IANS) The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has confirmed the three-year ban of Para-powerlifting athlete Simone Fragoso of Portugal for committing an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV), in breach of the IPC Anti-Doping Code, in a pre-Paralympic Games test in August this year.

The Portuguese athlete returned an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for metabolites of a prohibited substance in a urine sample provided out-of-competition on August 31, 2024, as part of the IPC’s pre-Games testing programme at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, the IPC informed in a release on Friday.

The substance was stanozolol, the anabolic steroid for which Jamaican-born Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson had tested positive in the most famous doping cases in athletics at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Stanozolol is included on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) 2024 Prohibited List under the class S.1.1 (Anabolic Androgenic Steroids).

The athlete was provisionally suspended by the IPC on September 3, 2024, pending a resolution of her case.

The athlete accepted the commission of the ADRV and the consequences proposed by the IPC. As a result of her violation, the athlete will be ineligible for competition and other sporting activities (other than authorised anti-doping education or rehabilitation programmes) for three years from September 3, 2024, to September 2, 2027.

All results obtained by the athlete from the date the sample was collected until the commencement of the provisional suspension are disqualified, with all resulting consequences, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.

Fragoso is Portugal's first and only Para-powerlifter who has shifted to powerlifting from swimming and competes in the women’s up to 41kg.

Courtesy Media Group: IANS

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