Cielo escapes with warning

Olympic and world champion Cesar Cielo was one of six swimmers to be let off with a warning despite testing positive for a diuretic.

Cielo, world 50metres and 100m freestyle champion as well as Olympic gold medallist in the former, tested positive for the banned substance furosemide at the Maria Lenk Trophy competition in Santos in May.
As well as Cielho, Nicholas Santos, Henrique Barbosa and Vinicius Waked - the quartet all on the Brazil team for this month's World Swimming Championships in Shanghai - also tested positive for the diuretic which is on the banned list given its properties as a masking agent.
However, rather than a ban, the four have merely been given warnings after the doping control panel "considered the history of the athletes" and also their explanations believing the quartet had not intended to cheat with Cielho claiming his normal supplements had been cross-contaminated.
In a statement, the 24-year-old said: "All data was laid out before the panel and it was proven that the presence of the substance was caused by cross-contamination during the handling of a supplement (exceptionally, that can happen even where sanitary vigilance standards are observed).
"I have always use this supplement and previous controls have never previously presented a problem. Given the trust I have in this supplement, I think this has been an isolated case.
"Because of the trust placed in the product, other athletes also used the supplement.
"I submit to constant testing - this year, I have already been tested five times. I also submitted to a blood test in France at the Paris Open. I submit to random testing and am part of FINA's whereabouts programme that requires me to inform the authorities every time I move [from place to place]. Those are the rules of the game and I have always known that.
"At no time was I reckless or negligent nor did I lean on ignorance.
"I do not use any type of medicine or supplement without checking that it is safe to use.
"Wherever I am in the world, I consult my doctor and my father, who is also a doctor, about the composition of any medicine or supplement before ingesting them. I am extremely careful with that and I my conscience is clear in terms of my knowing that I did nothing to deliberately enhance my performance."
While the documentation has been sent to governing body FINA, it may not mean the end of the matter for Cielo with the pool events due to start in Shanghai on July 24.