– It has been very tough. It has been scary. But I am pleasantly surprised by the enormous support I have received, says Stian Angermund (37). It has been just over four months since he last visited news to reveal a secret. After winning the mountain race Orsières-Champex-Chamonix on 31 August last year, he took a doping test which was positive for the banned substance chlorthalidone. A diuretic blood pressure medication that can be used to camouflage other prohibited substances. – I’m afraid. I am being accused of something I know I have not done, said the father of two in the interview which took place on 8 February and was published on news two days later. Expects to escape punishment Now he is waiting for a decision in the case. A decision he feels should have been made a long time ago. In the months that have passed, the 37-year-old has done an extensive job to find an explanation for how the banned substance could have ended up in the urine sample that the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) believes is his. He has also tried to get clarity on whether the positive sample is his at all. TOUGH TIME: Stian Angermund feared the social judgment after he told about the positive doping test, but no longer has problems going to the convenience store. Photo: Anders Skjerdingstad / news news has been given access to the material Angermund has submitted and the dialogue with AFLD. Based on this material, the man with four World Cup golds is quite clear about what outcome he expects: – I expect not to receive any punishment at all. That they let me go without any punishment. – We believe that Stian has provided enough documentation in this case to show that his test results are the result of contamination. That is to say, something he has taken in completely without knowledge or will. It should give a result of “no fault” for Stian, quite obviously, as we see it, says lawyer Andreas Messelt Ekker to news. The sample was kept in a private refrigerator. In a letter Ekker sent to AFLD on 24 April, the lawyer also argues that the entire case should be declared invalid and dismissed regardless. The letter points to two points that Ekker believes are breaches of the “chain of custody” – the formal guidelines for handling doping samples. Firstly, he refers to the fact that the doping sample was kept in the doping controller’s private fridge for four days, from 31 August to 4 September, before it was sent on to a laboratory for analysis. REQUIRES DISMISSAL: Lawyer Andreas Messelt Ekker. Photo: news “We have no way of knowing who had access to the samples during the days they were in his fridge, and what could potentially have been done with them by accident or otherwise”, argues Ekker, and concludes: “This is not a transport system that protects the sample’s integrity, identity and security”. However, AFLD defends the sample handling in a letter to Angermund. They indicate that the doping inspector is under oath, and that he has guaranteed that the seal on the sample has not been broken. “The conditions under which the sealed samples were transported and stored are completely in accordance with regulations and cannot in any way have affected the integrity of the samples”, they write. – In any case, I don’t think this is legal certainty at all. I think it is beyond criticism, says Angermund to news. Expert: Date was changed The second thing Ekker points out in the letter to AFLD is that the handwritten date on the form for transferring the sample to the laboratory has been changed from 31/08/2023 to 04/09/2023. A copy of the form has been examined by renowned British handwriting analyst Ruth Meyrs, who concludes as follows: DATE CLUSTER: A British expert determines that the date on this document has been altered. “In my opinion, the figures questioned on the ‘Transfer to Laboratory’ form have been altered by the same hand, as I judge from the copy.” “Given this assessment, that 31/08/2023 was changed to 04/09/2023, one must ask why this was changed on the form, and why (name of controller) did not inform AFLD of this in any way. (…)”, writes Ekker in his letter. In the letter, lawyer Ekker also mentions that the test date in one of the documents from the sample analysis was erroneously set to 11 May 2023, and claims that the test reports from the A and B analysis of the sample show differences in ph level and test methods. Ekker’s conclusion is that the regulations have “undoubtedly” been broken, and concludes: “This case should be declared invalid”. AFLD rejects breach of rules news has confronted AFLD with this, and other factual information and views that appear in this article. This is the answer: “Since Angermund was informed of the unwanted analytical finding from the anti-doping test, he has challenged several points in the procedure. He has every right to do so in his defence, but the AFLD is answering his questions and these allegations have not been proven to the AFLD at this stage. Unlike athletes, AFLD is bound by privacy concerns in ongoing cases, and therefore does not communicate about specific cases. The AFLD is only entitled to say that the ‘chain of custody’ after careful checks was not broken and that the process was in accordance with the anti-doping rules.” Didn’t get a DNA test When Stian Angermund became aware that the sample had been in a private refrigerator for four days, he asked for a DNA test of the sample – to be absolutely sure that it was actually his urine that was sent for analysis . The request was refused. – I received an answer that I could not get that, because I had signed this document during the doping control which means that I approve the entire procedure, says Angermund. – But I did not approve of this being left in a private fridge. – What do you think it says about the athlete’s legal certainty that you cannot even get confirmation that it is your sample that has been analysed? – I don’t think it’s safe at all. It also makes me lose confidence in the anti-doping work, says Angermund. AFLD chose this time not to answer news’s question about why Angermund’s application was rejected. Already on 8 February, however, AFLD gave the following answer to news to questions about DNA testing of doping samples on a general basis: “Genetic testing of anti-doping samples is not necessary, nor is it part of the WADA standard for testing, given the robustness of the testing process: collection of urine under the direct observation of a sworn doping control officer, distribution of the sample and sealing of the bottles by the athlete.” Found no traces in hair and nails With his request for a DNA test of the doping test refused, Angermund instead traveled to Professor Pascal Kintz in Strasbourg. Kintz is a specialist in identifying traces of drugs in chest hair and toenails. news has gained access to the test report. According to it, traces of drug use can be found from four to eight months in chest hair and from eight to 12 months in toenails. Chlorthalidone was not found in Angermund’s samples. “The results (…) show that Stian Angermund has not been exposed to chlorthalidone at a level consistent with therapeutic use”, concludes Kintz. The professor points out that Angermund’s sample is therefore most likely contaminated. Angermund has tried to find the source of this pollution. Medicines and nutritional supplements that belonged to the cohabitant have been analyzed. The same applies to all sports nutrition that Angermund himself uses. None of the products contained traces of the banned substance. TIRED OF WAITING: Stian Angermund believes the AFLD has had more than enough time to give him a final answer. Photo: Anders Skjerdingstad / news – An enormously long time Angermund also contacted the organizers of the race to get an overview of the food and drink products that were distributed at the food stations. The overview he received was not specific enough for it to be possible to have relevant tests done. news has gained access to the correspondence. The hotel Angermund stayed at has also been unable to help find the source, apart from stating that none of the employees used the medicine in question. news has also gained access to this correspondence. Thus, Stian Angermund is still sitting at home in Bergen without any explanation as to why he took a positive doping test, but just as clearly that he has not knowingly and willfully taken the banned substance. Angermund believes that the French Anti-Doping Agency must take its share of the responsibility for his failure to find the source, in the sense that it took exactly 50 days from the time he took the test until he was made aware of the positive finding. – I think that is an enormously long time. Because it also makes it enormously difficult to investigate the whole case to find this out here, he says. Notice of appeal In front of news, AFLD explains the use of time with the preparations for the imminent Summer Olympics in Paris: “The delay from the French anti-doping laboratory, which sent the test result to AFLD on 6 October 2023, is due to its high level of activity in the period before the Olympics and after moving a few weeks earlier from the previous localization. When the AFLD was informed, the legal team sent the first correspondence to Angermund within 14 days, which is a normal deadline. For the legal part of the process, the duration is usual for such a complex case, and before it is decided, the AFLD wants to give the athlete time to present his evidence.” Now Stian Angermund demands that the case against him be dropped on formal grounds. Regardless, he believes he has proven his innocence. Therefore, he is also clear that any verdict other than a full acquittal will be appealed, if necessary to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). – I am a pure performer, and then I will not be punished for something I have not done, says Stian Angermund. The punishment for athletes found guilty of using chlorthalidone varies from a warning to a four-year ban. Angermund has been voluntarily suspended since October, but is clear that he will appeal even if a verdict will eventually mean that he has, in theory, already finished his sentence. STRONGLY IMPRESSED: It was a tearful Stian Angermund who came out with the positive doping test in February. Published 19.06.2024, at 17.44
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Stian Angermund demands a full cleaning – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
