Tunisian swimmer Oussama Mellouli stripped of championship for doping

September 12, 2007



Yesterday Tunisian star swimmer was stripped by the  in, Switzerland, of his world championship and another world championships silver medal from the , which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in March.

He was also suspended for 18 months retroactive to November 30, 2006 — all for testing positive for, after using the drug , which aids concentration levels, and which is widely used by college students when cramming for exams.

A few weeks after the conclusion of the 2007 World Aquatics Championships in Melbourne in late March 2007, reports began to surface that Mellouli had tested positive for a banned substance at the US Open in November 2006. These reports surfaced because, the international governing body of the sport, had discovered that Tunisian authorities had known about the positive test and only given him a warning. The rules state that when an athlete tests positive for a banned substance, he or she must be given a 2 year ban from the sport. Therefore, FINA had taken the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Finally, after months of speculation, yesterday Oussama Mellouli lost his case before that Court.

He escaped the worst possible punishment, because the timing and the retroactive status of the suspension give Mellouli a chance to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he is a favorite in several medium distance races.

However, he loses the distinction of having become the first world champion in the history of competitive swimming (in 800 m freestyle), and loses another silver medal (in 400 m freestyle) from his best-ever showing at the Australian world championships.