Colombian tennis player Robert Farah , doubles champion of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2019 , tested positive for boldenone in a sample collected during a check that took place on October 17 in Cali , so he will not participate in the next Open from Australia.
"At the moment I am in Los Angeles (USA) and I will not be able to play the Australian Open, event for which I had been preparing since December. A few hours ago the ITF (International Tennis Federation) informed me of the presence of boldenone in a test, "Farah said in a statement.
The 33-year-old athlete said that two weeks before that control he had another one in Shanghai, which "had a negative result." "And I was also tested at least 15 other times randomly in the international circuit throughout the year with the same negative result," he added.
The tennis player, who currently occupies the first place in the ATP ranking doubles with his compatriot Juan Sebastián Cabal , said he believes that the positive for boldenone, an injectable steroid derived from testosterone that has anabolic properties, occurred due to its presence in Beef
In November 2018, the president of the Colombian Olympic Committee (COC), Baltazar Medina, sent a letter to the athletes in which he warned them of the presence in the beef of Boldenone and recalled that in case of giving positive in this substance the Manual Anti-Doping Code establishes a four-year suspension.
That is why Farah said: "With my team and a group of advisors we are inquiring about the steps to follow in a process that we intend to show that I have never used any product that threatens fair play and ethics that characterizes sport and especially tennis , activity that I love and to which I owe my happiest moments. "
"I am calm and confident in the results of this process since I have always acted with rectitude and honesty in my life," he said, adding: "I will work harder than ever to return to the courts in the shortest possible time."
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