Championships she won a silver medal for the 400 metres.
She also won a gold medal at the 2006 European
Championship.
Photo: REUTERS
Two of Bulgaria’s most successful athletes will miss the Olympics this summer, not because of bad results or injuries but because of a doping scandal. The European 400 metres women’s champion Vanya Stambolova (25) and high jump silver medallist Venelina Veneva (34) heard the news on February 5 after they lost their appeal against a two-year doping ban. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) accepted the results of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), according to which the two athletes tested positive for the male sex hormone testosterone, or its precursors, in Budapest in January 2007. In February 2007 Veneva once again tested positive, this time in Sofia.
When the first test results came out both athletes received the full support of Bulgaria Athletic Federation (BAF) which imposed a temporary ban on them. The federation claimed that the test results were not convincing enough to impose more severe sanction on Veneva and Stambolova. That was the reason why the CAS was asked to review IAAF’s test results. With the February 4 ruling of CAS, Veneva and Stambolova lost all hopes of overturning the ban. The two will have to return some of the prize money they won last year. In the case of Venava this means about 20 000 euro. The two will stop receiving their scholarships from Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) and the State Agency for Youth and Sports (SAYS). Until now they had received 500 leva month from BOC and 600 leva a month from SAYS as part of their preparations for the Olympics. The two also receive 500 leva month from Demirbank from a sponsorship contract but the bank has not yet made a statement on the issue. Stambolova and Veneva are also on the payroll of the Defence Ministry.
BAF president Dobri Karamarinov told Reuters “we did our very best to help our athletes prove their innocence but the court’s decision is categorical and we accept it”.
According to CAS the ban on Veneva had been effective from April 3 2007, while Stambolova’s ban started of April 10 2007. For both athletes, however, this could mean an end of their careers.
