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Hungarian water polo player banned
Posted: Saturday November 27, 1999 07:29 PM
LONDON (Reuters) -- Top Hungarian water polo player Tibor Benedek has been suspended for 15 months after testing positive for an anabolic steroid, the International Amateur Swimming Federation (FINA) said. FINA, the world governing body for aquatic sports, said Benedek had tested positive for chlortestosterone (clentubol) in a doping control on June 26 at an Italian national league match involving his club A.S. Roma Pallnuoto. In September, the Italian swimming federation imposed an eight-month ban, running from August 27, and on appeal this was reduced to three months, FINA said in a statement from its Lausanne headquarters. But the FINA executive, disagreeing with the Italian ruling, ordered a hearing of the FINA doping panel in Lausanne last Monday. The panel decided to impose a 15-month ban, which will include the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. "This is a very strong sanction for the athlete and certainly sufficient in his case," FINA said. Benedek, a member of the Hungarian national team for the past 10 years, said the positive test had been caused by medication he had been prescribed. FINA rules stipulate four years for an anabolic steroid offence but the doping panel decided there were mitigating circumstances. "The athlete has the right to submit an appeal against the judgement of the FINA Doping Panel to the Court for Arbitration in Sport (CAS) in Lausanne within a period of one month after having been notified officially," FINA said.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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