China's judoka restates innocence
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China's Olympic champion judoka, Tong Wen, restated her innocence on Wednesday after her successful appeal against a two-year doping ban was questioned by the International Judo Federation (IJF), the authority which sanctioned the suspension last May.
Tong said she "never attempted to use any kind of banned substance to enhance her performance" and hoped to clarify "any misunderstanding with the IJF to rebuild the bond with the federation as soon as possible", her lawyer said.
Tong, who won the women's 78+ kg title at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, was banned for two years by the IJF after testing positive for clenbuterol during the World Judo Championships in 2009. The federation also took away the gold medal she won at the event, which was her fourth consecutive Worlds title.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned Tong's suspension on Feb 23, citing a "procedural failure". It said the federation analyzed Tong's backup B sample in November 2009 without informing her or offering her an opportunity to attend the test at the lab in Cologne, Germany.
However, the IJF announced two days later on its official website that the ban's cancellation "should not be interpreted as an exoneration of Tong's doping violation" and that the court's decision would have a "negative influence on judo and the world anti-doping effort".
The IJF also argued Tong's doping attempt could not be cleared because the 28-year-old had admitted her guilt in a confession letter she sent to the federation in October 2009.
However, Tong said her confession was "unwillingly" made under "desperate circumstances" and that to defend her innocence was "extremely difficult" and might bring about "more complex appeal procedures".
In order to "plead for light punishment", she said she had to admit to the charge. Tong believed, at that time, it was the only way not to "destroy her career and her beloved judo sport".
