Italian biathlete Rebecca Passler rejoined her team at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games on Monday after she successfully appealed a suspension for alleged doping violation after she tested positive for the banned substance Letrozole.
In her appeal, Passler, a 24 year-old athlete, claimed that the Letrozole contamination allegedly came from a spoon she used to eat Nutella hazelnut spread for breakfast the day before the test at her mother’s place, who was taking the substance as part of her breast cancer treatment.
Passler reportedly marked the first case of doping allegations at the Milano Cortina Games. She was suspended on early February at the eve of the games after she tested positive for Letrozole during a late January out-of-competition test.
Italian outlets reported in the following days that the athlete denied the doping allegations and filed an appeal request at Italy’s NADO anti-doping body. Passler argued that she was allegedly not aware that her mother had been prescribed a letrozole-based drug for her breast cancer treatment. She recounted in her appeal that she returned home on January 24 after participatin from the World Cup stage the Czech Republic and spent the following day with her family, during which she consumed Nutella using the same shared spoon during breakfast with her mother.
“The athlete had not been fully informed of her mother’s medical condition and was unaware that her mother was taking the medication daily, which was kept in a place inaccessible to her and others,” the appeal request documentation reportedly read, as per the newspaper Il Giornale.
NADO upheld Passler’s appeal on Friday, allowing her to rejoin her team. Although NADO ruled in favor of the atlhlete, the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) reportedly noted that it was a provisional ruling. A NADO yet-to-be established anti-doping tribunal will hear the case at a later date.
“These have been very difficult days. I have always believed in my good faith,” Passler told repoters over the weekend after her appeal was upheld. “Now, I can finally get back to focusing 100 percent on biathlon.”
Rai News reports that Passler rejoined the Italian team on Monday afternoon, and resumed her training at the biathlon stadium in Anterselva after her suspension was lifted.
“The athlete spent a couple of hours on skis and at the shooting range with her teammate Michela Carraro, under the supervision of the coaches and technical director Klaus Höllrigl. She appeared calm and focused. Tomorrow, the names of the athletes who will compete in Wednesday’s relay will be announced,” Rai News reported on Monday.
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