Rio de Janeiro (AFP)
Brazilian Rafaela Silva, an Olympic and World Judo Champion, admitted Friday that she has undergone a positive anti-doping test on fenoterol, but has claimed her innocence.
"I am clean and I will continue to train and fight to prove my innocence," she told a press conference.
"I was tested positive for fenoterol (...), but I do not use this substance, I am not asthmatic," said Rafaela Silva.
Fenoterol, a bronchodilator used especially for the treatment of asthma, is part of the list of prohibited products of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Positive control took place on August 9, at the Pan American Games, where she won the gold medal in the -57 kg category.
In the process, she won bronze at the Tokyo Worlds, where she hopes to be able to defend her Olympic title for the Rio 2016 Games next year.
Her lawyer Bichara Neto said at the press conference that the Brazilian was "not suspended on a provisional basis".
The Olympic champion pointed out that she had been tested on August 29, at the end of the World Cup, but that the sample did not show the presence of fenoterol.
The Brazilian claimed that one of the hypotheses was that the substance was passed on to her by a baby, the daughter of a friend, who uses asthma products.
Rafaela Silva, who grew up in the City of God, Rio de Janeiro's famous favela, won her biggest home titles, the 2013 Worlds and the 2016 Olympics, becoming a symbol of success for people in difficult neighborhoods.
In June 2016, Brazilian swimmer Etiene Medeiros was also tested positive for fenoterol, but was cleared a few weeks later and allowed to compete in Rio 2016.
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