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Backstrom to receive silver medal, IOC says Sweden doctor ‘made a serious error’

NicklasBackstromReuters

Nicklas Backstrom will get an Olympic silver medal, even though he was suspended from Sweden’s gold-medal game defeat to Canada for testing positive for pseudoephedrine.

From the IOC:

The IOC Disciplinary Commission (DC), composed of Anita L. DeFrantz (Chairperson), Nawal El Moutawakel and Claudia Bokel, found that the provisional suspension was fully justified, not only due to the presence in excess of the applicable decision limit of PSE in his urine sample, but also due to the fact that the athlete conceded at the hearing, which took place shortly before the final match, that he had also taken medication containing PSE earlier that day.

The IOC DC took into account in particular that the athlete had been cooperative, had disclosed the medication in question in the doping control form and had relied on the specific advice of his team doctor that the intake of the medication would not give rise to an adverse analytical finding. There was also no indication of any intent of the athlete to improve his performance by taking a prohibited substance. Based upon these mitigating circumstances, the IOC DC considered that the athlete should be entitled to receive the silver medal and diploma awarded for men’s ice hockey.

Click here for a PDF of the full decision, which contains this relevant note:

Doctor

Related: Swedish coach ‘furious’ about Backstrom ban, claims IOC ‘made things up’