
The court of abrotration for sport rejected Brazilian Olympic Judo gold medalist Rafaela Silva’s appeal to overturn her doping ban. AFP
The court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected an appeal to overturn a two-year doping ban lodged by Brazilian judoka Rafaela Silva, who won a gold at the Rio Games in 2016 but who tested positive for a banned substance in a regional competition in 2019.
Silva retains her Olympic title but is now unable to defend it at the Tokyo Games in 2021, a major blow for the now 28-year-old who hails from the modest City of God neighbourhood of Rio where she is revered.
Silva underwent an anti-doping control during the 2019 Panamerican Games in Lima, Peru, after competing in, and winning, the final bout in the -57kg category and this test revealed the presence of a banned substance connected to the treatment of asthma.
CAS said on Monday Silva had had not discharged the burden which lies upon her to establish by a balance of probability the “route of ingestion” for the banned substance.