Ukrainian gymnast Oleg Verniaiev has been finally cleared to compete as he managed to get his four year ban due to doping reduced to two y...
In August 2020, Verniaiev tested positive for the banned substances meldonium in an out-of-competition, which led to his four year ban.
The 29 year old gymnast, who appealed the suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, acknowledged the presence of the drug in his body, but denied wrongdoing as he does not know how it got there.
The ban caused him to miss the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which was postponed to the following year due to the Covid pandemic. Hence he was not able to defend his 2016 Olympic parallel bars title.
"I'm in line 💪 It was a long process during which I proved my lack of intention to dope," the Ukrainian athlete wrote on Instagram.
"The court reduced the sanction by half. This means that the court agreed with my arguments and confirmed that the meldonium entered the body was not my fault or negligence."
"I thank my relatives and friends for their faith and support during all this time. And hello to everyone who didn't want it that way. See you later) Faster. Above. Stronger"
Beside his Olympic gold, Verniaiev is the 2016 Olympic all around silver medalist, the 2014 World parallel bars champion, and the 2015 and 2017 European all around champion.
No comments