– After a few tough weeks, I am finally ready to share my feelings with you.
That’s what the Italian biathlete Rebecca Passler writes in an emotional Instagram post.
– I was devastated
In January, Passler tested positive for the banned substance letrozole in an unannounced out-of-competition test. Thus, the Olympic dream was dashed just weeks before the Games on home ground in Anterselva.
– It was the worst thing that can happen to an athlete. I was devastated. Everything I had worked for, every single day, month and year in pursuit of one dream, felt like it was destroyed in an instant. In addition, I was not treated with the respect that every human being deserves. In addition to being a performer, I am still a human being.
– There were moments that felt unfair and impossible to understand. But I have to say that I have had incredible support from so many people who stood by me during this time. I want to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart, she continues.
Dramatic Olympic turnaround
The case took several turns in the weeks before and during the Olympics. Passler was initially suspended after the positive test, but has always claimed his innocence and explained the finding as contamination.
According to her explanation, the substance must have come from a drug the mother uses to treat breast cancer.
Also read: The Olympic queen ends the season after injury problems.
She first tried to have the suspension lifted in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but was refused because she first had to use the appeal options in the Italian anti-doping system. There she was later accepted, which gave her the go-ahead to join the Olympic squad.
The hope of an Olympic start thus lived for a short time, but a short time later, however, the news came that she was not selected for the Italian relay team, nor was she qualified for the last individual exercises.
Thus, the 24-year-old had to follow the championship at home from the sidelines.
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