Paris (AFP)
A relative of Ophélie Claude-Boxberger has accused in custody of having injected EPO to the positive controlled athlete in September, an alibi which, if confirmed, could avoid a sanction to the French athlete, was learned Friday from a source close to the file.
This source, however, called for "prudence", considering the hypothesis that this close "sacrifices itself", "the only way for her to get out of it".
"It's a machination, I finally understood things, understood how we found the EPO in my body," said the specialist of the 3,000 m steeplechase, aged 31, the regional daily L 'Is Republican, claiming that' this person has enjoyed a moment of psychological and physical weakness'.
Controlled positive on 18 September at the training center of Font-Romeu, the athlete, like her relative, was interviewed in Montbéliard, where she resides, by the investigators of the Central Office of fight against damage to the environment and public health (Oclaesp), in the framework of custody "lifted Friday morning", according to a judicial source.
According to the source close to the case, the accuser, Alain Flaccus, is the companion of the athlete's mother and is part of his sports entourage. While in custody, he admitted to injecting him with EPO by sting, while Ophélie Claude-Boxberger would have fallen asleep after a massage, the source added, confirming details given by L'Equipe.
The positive control of the EPO and the sentimental relation of the athlete with the doctor of the French athletics team Jean-Michel Serra, in charge of his medical follow-up, led the French Anti-Doping Agency ( AFLD) to report the facts to the Paris prosecutor's office, which opened a preliminary inquiry on 14 October.
The doctor was pinned in June for worrying AFLD about the number of controls Claude-Boxberger had undergone, without informing his superiors.
This alibi could allow the athlete to avoid a disciplinary sanction, while incurring a 4-year suspension. At this stage, she has been granted a temporary suspension.
Contacted by AFP, the secretary general of AFLD, Mathieu Teoran, did not wish to speak.
© 2019 AFP