A Romanian gymnast, who stirred controversy two years ago by edging out Olympic sensation Jordan Chiles for a bronze medal, now faces a temporary suspension from gymnastics due to a doping violation.
Nineteen-year-old Ana Maria Barbosu from Romania has been charged with breaching anti-doping rules and has received a provisional suspension after failing to attend three drug tests within a 12-month period, as reported by the International Testing Agency.
According to officials, Olympic athletes must provide their daily locations and designate a one-hour window for testing during the off-season. Missing three tests or failing to file the necessary information within a year constitutes a doping violation.
Barbosu has decided to take her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), where she will need to explain the circumstances of each missed test.
“The athlete has requested the case be referred for adjudication to the Court of Arbitration for Sport Anti-Doping Division. There, she will have the opportunity to present explanations and evidence regarding each of the three whereabouts failures,” stated the organization on Thursday.
The outcome of Barbosu’s appeal could result in a suspension of up to two years, depending on the decision reached.
Babosu fired back on social media after the announcement, blaming college for the lapse and stressing her missed tests had nothing to do with “prohibited substances.”
“I wanted to share and clarify some information that has been circulating,” she posted on her Instagram Story, NBC Sports reported.
“As you can imagine, moving to the US and starting college (at Stanford within the last year) has been a big transition. Navigating through all the changes has been challenging, and I’m continuing to learn and grow through each experience,” she continued.
“To be clear, this situation has nothing to do with prohibited substances, and I have been grateful for the guidance and support through the process.”
Barbosu is currently in an ongoing appeals process with Chiles over the disputed bronze medal decision.
Chiles originally finished third in the floor exercise at the 2024 Paris Olympics only to have the medal given to Barbosu after the Romanian team appealed the score.
Before the dispute, the US team initially appealed Chiles’ score, bumping her from fifth to third.
But a CAS panel reversed the decision after finding the inquiry was filed four seconds past the one-minute deadline, dropping her back to fifth and forcing her to give the bronze to her Romanian opponent.
Chiles challenged the ruling to Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court, which sent the case back to the CAS to review new video evidence earlier this year.
Judges want CAS to examine footage suggesting the US inquiry was filed within the one-minute window.
