Lima (AFP)
Brazilian Rafaela Silva, the Olympic and judo world champion, has lost her gold medal at the Pan American Games Lima-2019 for doping, Panam Sports, the Pan American sports organization, said on Wednesday.
Rafaela Silva, Olympic champion at Rio 2016 in the category - 57 kilos, was tested positive on August 9th for fenoterol.
This bronchodilator used especially for the treatment of asthma is on the list of banned products of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Six other athletes were tested positive during the Pan American Games that took place in Lima from July 26 to August 11.
On Friday, at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, the 27-year-old champion claimed her innocence. "I am clean and I will continue to train and fight to prove my innocence," she said.
"I was tested positive for fenoterol (...), but I do not use this substance, I am not asthmatic," said Rafaela Silva.
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.
As a result of the penalty against the Brazilian, the gold medal went to Dominican judoka Ana Rosa.
© 2019 AFP