Italian investigators have expanded their doping investigation into former Olympic race walk champion Alex Schwazer, looking into an alleged cover-up involving coaches and doctors.
Prosecutors in Schwazer’s hometown of Bolzano on Wednesday named five people who have been placed under investigation in the case. They are Schwazer’s former coach Michele Didoni, Italian athletics federation medical director Giuseppe Fischetto, federation physician Pierluigi Fiorella, federation secretary Rita Bottiglieri and equestrian athlete Karl Wechselberger.
The five are accused of being aware of Schwazer’s doping before he tested positive and failing to report it.
On Tuesday, authorities raided the offices of Italy’s Olympic committee and athletics federation as part of the Bolzano inquiry.
Schwazer was banned by the Italian Olympic Committee, known as CONI, for 3 1/2 years in April, and CONI also opened an inquiry Wednesday into the alleged cover up.
Prosecutors now believe coaches and physicians knew that Schwazer was doping long before he tested positive, possibly stretching back to Beijing.
‘veronica case appears to be ‘lesser’ offense’
london: The doping case involving Jamaican sprint star Veronica Campbell-Brown appears to involve a “lesser” offense of unintentional use of a banned substance, the sport’s world governing body said Wednesday.
The reigning 200-meter world champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist was suspended by Jamaica’s national federation on Tuesday pending an investigation into a positive drug test.
IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said. “all evidence seems to point to this offense being a lesser one.”