WADA sheds light on different doping bans for Jannik Sinner and Spanish figure skater

Sinner had received a three-month ban after entering a dope settlement with WADA for testing positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol, the same substance for which the skater, Barquero, was banned for six years.

The Spanish media has been calling attention to these two different doping ban durations. The Anti-Doping Agency highlighted that although both the cases had involved the same substance, the particular facts related to Barquero's case were "very different" to Sinner's.

"The fundamental difference between the two cases is that Ms. Barquero's version of how the substance entered her system was unconvincing in light of the evidence, such that the circumstances remained unknown as far as WADA was concerned," WADA said in an email sent to The Associated Press. "In contrast, in the Sinner case, the evidence clearly confirmed the athlete's explanation as outlined in the first instance decision."

Barquero first tested positive for Clostebol at the time of the 2022 Winter Olympics. She was again found positive for the steroid in January 2023 in an out-of-competition test carried out by the International Skating Union.

The Agency entered into a 'case resolution agreement' under which the athlete was suspended for six years. It said that the agreement was accepted and signed by WADA, the ISU and the athlete herself.

“If Ms. Barquero did not agree with the proposed sanction, she was not obliged to sign the case resolution agreement and was free to take the case forward for hearing at CAS,” WADA said.

The World Anti-Doping Agency was earlier looking for a ban of between one of two years for the Italian star. The Agency appealed against the decision of the International Tennis Integrity Agency to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last year in September. It has formally withdrawn its appeal.

In a statement released, the agency said it has accepted Sinner's explanation and believes he did not intend to cheat. "WADA accepts the athlete's explanation for the cause of the violation as outlined in the first instance decision. WADA accepts that Mr. Sinner did not intend to cheat, and that his exposure to Clostebol did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit and took place without his knowledge as the result of the negligence of members of his entourage," the agency said in its statement on Saturday.