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Thursday, September 7
Kisseleva files damages suit after dope test
Reuters
MOSCOW -- Russian Maria Kisseleva has filed
a law suit against the distributor of a weight-loss product
after she was stripped of the European duet synchronised
swimming title last month after testing positive for ephedrine.
"Kisseleva has filed a claim in a Moscow court this week
against Biosport company, the distributors of the weight-loss
product Formula," Gennady Alyoshin, president of the Russian
Swimming Federation, told Reuters on Thursday.
"Russian law requires all product makers and distributors
to list all the ingredients on the side of the package which was
not the case here," he said.
"She was given a supplement, which also contained ephedrine
and caffeine, to control her weight by a team doctor, but these
substances were not listed."
Kisseleva and her partner Olga Brusnikina, who had won two
previous European duet titles, are considered as the leading
contenders for a gold medal in Sydney.
Confirming that the team doctor had been fired, Alyoshin
said: "Clearly, it's his job to make sure our athletes take
only legal products."
Kisseleva has lodged the claim for the "moral damages" she
suffered as a result of losing her medal and her subsequent
one-month suspension, he said.
"She didn't do it just for the money but to clear her name
and her moral image and to show that all her previous
championship medals didn't come as a result of cheating but
rather hard work and dedication," he said.
Biosport is the company which distributes the American-made
product in Russia.
Kisseleva, 26, was given a one-month suspension by the
European Swimming League instead of the usual three-month ban to
enable her to compete at the Sydney Olympics.
"I think it was a fair sentence not only because it's
probably her last chance to compete in the Olympics and possibly
win a medal, but mainly because she had absolutely no knowledge
she was taking illegal substances," said Alyoshin.
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