A French fencer, Ysaora Thibus, was accused of doping, testing positive for ostarine, an anabolic substance which can promote muscle and bone growth, in January 2024. The International Fencing Federation cleared her, and she was allowed to take part in the Paris Olympics, ending fifth in individual foil. But WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, did not accept her explanation, that she had been contaminated by kissing her partner over a period of nine days, and asked for a four-year ban on her.
But Thibus has been cleared again, this time by Court of Arbitration for Sport, putting an end to her fight to prove her innocence. The CAS accepted the explanation: as she kissed her then-partner, American fencer Race Imboden, she had been contaminated by a product he used, which contained ostarine, over nine days with a cumulative effect.
"It is scientifically established that the intake of an ostarine dose similar to the dose ingested by Ms Thibus's then partner would have left sufficient amounts of ostarine in the saliva to contaminate a person through kissing," the court said (via ABC).
The case draws similarities to the "cocaine kiss", when tennis player Richard Gasquet was cleared by CAS after testing positive in cocaine, a contamination that happened after kissing a woman who had taken cocaine.
Ysaora Thibus, 33, won Silver for France in Team Women's Foil at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and Gold at Individual Women's Foil in 2022 World Championship. In 2021, she was awarded the Knight of the National Order of Merit.