Eastnews

The career of Polish cross-country skier Kornelia Marek could suffer a major setback this week with the release of the final results of the 2010 Winter Olympics’ anti-doping tests on Friday. Last week, it came to light that testing of a urine sample taken from Ms Marek after one of her events at the Vancouver Games revealed the presence of EPO, a banned substance.

Ms Marek has claimed innocence and called for another sample to be tested. After the news broke, the athlete was recalled to Poland from the cross-country World Cup in Norway. Upon arriving at Kraków’s Airport, she told journalists that she had not taken any injections.

“I believe that the [ultimate] result will be negative,” Ms Marek said.

The athlete’s coach, Wiesław Cempa, seemed equally surprised, claiming he did not remember Ms Marek taking any drugs and hinting that someone could have given her the substance without her knowledge. Should the second sample also prove to contain EPO, the whole affair should swiftly be cleared up and the guilty party found, Mr Cempa demanded.

Less convinced of Ms Marek’s innocence was Piotr Nurowski, president of the Polish Olympic Committee. He described what had allegedly happened as shameful and disgraceful.

The presence of EPO in Ms Marek’s samples would be the first confirmed instance of doping during this year’s Winter Olympic Games. Approximately 2,000 anti-doping tests were conducted during the event.

EPO (erythropoietin) is a hormone that affects red cell production. It is used as a blood doping agent in endurance sports. If the retest confirms the original result, the athlete will most likely be suspended for two years. A positive sample B test would also result in the nullification of Ms Marek’s achievements during the Vancouver Games. She came sixth in a 4x5 relay run and 11th in an individual 30-km run.