IOC drops doping charges against Australian Olympic swimming medalist Rickard

Moscow

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has withdrawn doping charges against Australian swimmer and three-time Olympic medalist Brenton Rickard, the US-based Swimming World magazine reported.

The IOC initiated a doping case in November 2020 after a repeat test of Rickard’s samples supplied at the London 2012 Olympic Games revealed a banned substance diuretic furosemide.

Back then, the swimmer said that the substance’s concentration was tiny, noting he had never knowingly taken banned substances.

The athlete appealed to the Court of Arbitration of Sport to clear his name, with the hearings held late last year, the magazine reported late on Monday, adding that though the charges were dropped, the swimmer still has whopping court costs of over $50,000 to pay.

Had the doping been confirmed, however, the six members of Australia’s 2012 team, including Rickard, Tommaso D’Orsogna, Christian Sprenger, Matt Targett, James Magnussen and Hayden Stoeckel, would have been stripped of their bronze medals.—AFP