LAUSANNE, September 28, 2024 - When we saw the news that Jannik Sinner's future will be in the hands of the CAS, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, we remembered two similar cases that shook the world of Norwegian cross-country skiing eight and nine years ago.
CAS will decide whether to acquit Sinner or punish him for the doping substance he inadvertently took during tournaments in the United States last spring after WADA said the findings of the ITIA (International Tennis Integrity Agency) of “no fault or negligence” on Sinner’s part was incorrect under the applicable rules. WADA is now seeking “a period of ineligibility of between one and two years”.
SIMILARITIES Norwegians Therese Johaug and Martin Johnsrud Sundby, then the absolute number 1 cross country skiers, paid differently for their inadvertent infringements. Let’s see what happened to each of them and see the analogies, because Johaug, for example, had inadvertently taken Clostebol, the same substance attributed to Sinner. Sundby took a medicine to cure asthma and was almost pardoned, indeed, after the light sentence. His federation even reimbursed him the money he lost due to his disqualification. In those days there were many athletes who suffered from asthma and perhaps some were also sick-healthy.
Let's start with the most recent case.
SINNER’S TESTS Jannik Sinner tested positive for doping on March 10, during the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells. The second positive test was on March 18, after the semifinal loss in the same tournament against Alcaraz. In both cases, similar levels of Clostebol were found, with a concentration in the urine in the first case of 86 picograms per milliliter, and in the second of 76 picograms per milliliter: that is, a concentration less than 1 billionth of a gram per liter. According to the version provided by Sinner's defense, the detection of Clostebol was due to contamination through his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi: the latter had massaged Sinner during the days of the tournament after using Trofodermin, a spray medicine containing Clostebol, to treat a cut he had suffered on the little finger of his left hand. The contamination during the massages could be explained by the fact that Jannik has a form of dermatitis on his feet and back which often causes small cuts and wounds on his skin.
It was explained that on February 13 Umberto Ferrara, Jannik's masseur, bought "Trofodermin" from a pharmacy in Bologna, a spray to treat wounds that could be purchased without a prescription and which contained, among other substances, Clostebol, a substance believed to be a doping agent later found in samples taken from Sinner.
CONSEQUENCES After these facts, Umberto Ferrara and Giacomo Naldi were fired.
However, the ITIA had established that there was objective responsibility of Sinner, who is also considered responsible for the errors committed by his team. Jannik, who had actively collaborated during the investigation, agreed to give up the prize money earned in Indian Wells (tournament in which he had tested positive) 300.000 dollars and the points won in that tournament (400 in total after the defeat in the semifinal with Alcaraz).
JOHAUG In September 2016, Therese Johaug, top Norwegian Nordic skier, tested positive for clostebol when she was training with the team in Italy. She stated that the substance came from an ointment called Trofodermin, which she used to treat her sunburnt lips between 4 to 15 September. The ointment was provided by the team physician, Fredrik Bendiksen, who did not notice that it contained a banned substance. Bendiksen later explained that he was distracted by three factors: his wife’s surgery, another athlete’s hospitalisation, and preparation for a press conference. He accepted full responsibility for the oversight and resigned from his position. The amount of Trofodermin found in her urine was 13ng/mL.
OLYMPICS LOST Although the International Ski Federation acknowledged that Johaug did not intend to cheat, they argued that her failure to notice the doping warning on the packaging warranted a suspension. The Norwegian Olympic Committee (NIF) issued a 13-month ban in February 2017, after Johaug returned an adverse analytical finding for clostebol, to be able to compete at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld an appeal from the International Ski Federation (FIS) to extend her sanction to 18 months, which prevented her from competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The judgment stated: “An athlete cannot abdicate his or her personal duty to avoid the consumption of a prohibited substance by simply relying on a doctor. Although Ms Johaug selected an eminently qualified doctor to assist her in her anti-doping obligations, the ultimate responsibility lies with her. She cannot discharge this responsibility by merely asking about the product’s safety and assuming that her doctor (no matter how highly qualified Dr Bendiksen may be) has done the requisite checks.”
“I am heart-broken. I had a dream to get to the Olympics”, Johaug told a news conference after the verdict was announced. “I think it is unfair, I feel I was unfairly treated. I feel I did everything right. I went to an expert who gave me this ointment and I asked him if the cream was on a doping list. The answer I got was no.”
SUNDBY Norwegian cross-country skier Martin Johnsrud Sundby lost his 2015 overall World Cup and Tour de Ski titles over a doping infringement. The CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) suspended him for two months as it upheld an appeal by WADA against the FIS Doping Panel, which had initially cleared the 2014 Olympic bronze medallist of wrongdoing. Johnsrud Sundby failed two tests for salbutamol, a medication he used to treat asthma. The tests took place during World Cup events in Davos, Switzerland, in December 2014 and in Toblach, Italy, the following month. While the medication is normally applied by a handheld metric dose inhaler, he used a nebulizer and exceeded the allowed maximum dose of salbutamol. The doping panel of FIS ruled the athlete didn't breach anti-doping rules and refrained from further action. Following the appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency, CAS overturned the decision as Johnsrud Sundby had not obtained an exemption to use a higher dose. As a consequence, Johnsrud Sundby's results in the Davos and Toblach events were cancelled.
'DEGREE OF FAULT WAS LIGHT' However, CAS handed him a suspension shorter than usual as "there was medical justification for the athlete's use of salbutamol" and "that his degree of fault was light."
"The CAS award is difficult to understand," Johnsrud Sundby said. "CAS finds the rule to be unclear and the degree of fault is light. Still I am severely punished. I have always been careful with my medication and followed the [Norwegian ski federation's] regulations and the doctor's recommendations exactly ... I had no reason to doubt their understanding of the regulations." The Norwegian federation said it assumed full responsibility for the matter, adding it would compensate Johnsrud Sundby for the prize money of around $130,000 US which he loses.
In a statement, FIS said it "fully shares the view of the CAS that Martin Johnsrud Sundby is not to be considered as an intentional doping offender" and that the sanctions result from "his reliance on questionable medical advice to administer salbutamol outside a hospital."
