Wulff bobsleigh doping case: B sample also positive

In the doping case of bobsleigh pusher Simon Wulff, the B sample is also positive. According to the "Sächsische Zeitung" newspaper, Wulff's lawyer Thomas Summerer confirmed the discovery of the substance methylhexanamine. "It is still inexplicable to us what the source of the contamination could be," said the lawyer. He expects a decision in May at the earliest.

The 24-year-old pusher of Olympic champion Francesco Friedrich was found to have used the substance, which is only permitted during training, in a competition sample on December 7. The substance is contained in so-called slimming products and dietary supplements and is now one of the most frequently found stimulants in doping samples.

The search for the source

"We are therefore currently having some dietary supplements that my client has taken analyzed in order to track down exonerating circumstances," said Summerer. Wulff will have to bear the costs of this himself; according to his lawyer, the international federation has refused to provide support.

Whether Wulff will be able to take part in next year's Olympic Games depends heavily on the success of these analyses. "I have come to know Simon as a person of great integrity and I sincerely hope that he and his supporters succeed in finding the source of the contamination," said BSD boss Thomas Schwab. "Only then would he still have a chance of competing with Francesco Friedrich's team at the Olympics in Cortina."

Nada has been warning since 2010

The former track and field athlete had been released by the German Bobsleigh and Luge Federation (BSD) as a precautionary measure to rule out possible retroactive sanctions against the team. The IBSF had not provisionally suspended Wulff. Results management is the responsibility of the international agency ITA, which also had the samples analyzed.

The National Anti-Doping Agency (Nada) has been warning about methylhexanamine on its website since 2010. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, biathlete Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle tested positive for the substance and was banned for two years; the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) later shortened the ban to six months. Sachenbacher-Stehle had explained the positive test with the ingestion of a contaminated tea powder.