The International Triathlon Union has just opened an investigation into several allegations related to a Henri Schoeman’s failed drug test. Apparently, the Olympic bronze triathlon medalist has failed a drug test conducted at the Games in Rio in 2016.
“ITU has been informed of allegations involving Henri Schoeman and an adverse analytical finding that would have occurred during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. The International Triathlon Union has promptly launched an investigation into the matter. ITU has been in touch with the athlete, who is fully cooperating,” the ITU said on Thursday.
The investigation is directly triggered from an article that is published by Sputnik. Sputnik is a news agency based in Russia that is known to be directly controlled by the government.
A positive result?
The 26-year-old triathlete was able to finish in third place right behind champion brothers Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee. His victory marked the first time that South Africa took a medal in triathlon. Now, the article published on Sputnik claims that they acquired leaked International Olympic Committee (IOC) emails from Fancy Bears which is a well-known hacking group that has previously ‘discovered’ several IOC and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) emails and documents that directly implicated different athletes and other officials part of the sport.
They have found a chain of conversations that are conducted between an IOC and medical director. They clearly claim a positive test for prednisone. It is important to notice that Schoeman did declare that he was taking this type of test taking when part of the Rio Games. This declaration makes this ‘hidden’ case appear even truer.
Prednisone is a common drug that is usually being used to treat chest infections. The drug is banned by WADA. However, Schoeman already talked about his illness a few days before the big event, noting that he was given the OK to race by his doctors only a day before the Olympics…
