Mathias Fluckiger has been definitively acquitted of any doping accusations

Mathias Fluckiger has been acquitted of all accusations

Mathias Fluckiger has been definitively acquitted of all accusations of violating anti-doping rules. After Swiss Sports Integrity decided not to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the UCI and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) also let the deadlines pass to appeal to the CAS. For Fluckiger, this marks the end of a battle of more than two years against unjustified doping accusations.

Just over a month ago, on September 13, 2024, Mathias Fluckiger received confirmation from WADA at his request: No more appeals to the CAS! This put an end to a long odyssey for Fluckiger: "The tension of the last two years has been incredible. Overcoming this case, with its endless obstacles, has been by far the most difficult and longest competition of my career. I am grateful to have had my family, my girlfriend, and an incredibly good team by my side. They made it possible for the truth to prevail in the end."

Several possible explanations for the origin of false accusations

Ultimately, the verdict of the Swiss Olympic Disciplinary Chamber (DK) was so clear that it was not surprising that neither party took the case to the CAS. In his defense, Mathias Fluckiger pointed out several ways in which the zeranol could have been measured in his sample. Contamination through meat from Brazil, toxins from mold when ingesting grain, or massive errors in sample collection, transportation, and subsequent storage: all possible and realistic reasons for the atypical result of the test at the Swiss Championships on June 5, 2022. The fact is: there was never a usable sample, let alone a positive A sample, as falsely reported.

The A sample measured a minuscule 0.3 nanograms of ceranol per milliliter, a value close to the detection limit and well below the WADA limit of 5 nanograms per milliliter. Below the limit value, a sample cannot be classified as an "adverse finding" (positive) and is considered an "atypical finding," which requires further clarification and involves the athlete. Since there was never a "positive A sample," Mathias Fluckiger could not demand that the B sample be opened.

He has not benefited, he has been a victim of procedural errors

Anyone who thinks that Fluckiger benefited from procedural errors in the ruling is mistaken. The Olympic silver medalist from Tokyo did not benefit but was a victim of several serious procedural errors: this is precisely what the Swiss Olympic Disciplinary Chamber (CD) determined: there were serious procedural violations that led to the general invalidity and, therefore, the uselessness of the sample. This also explains why Fluckiger's samples taken five days before and five days after June 5, 2022, and his hair analysis tested negative. It took an incredible 831 days after the botched sample collection for the case to come to an end. Too long. Fluckiger: "I am proud to have never given up. To have had the strength to believe in justice for so long. And to have been able to overcome so many mental setbacks during that time."

Waiting for a reassessment initiated by Swiss Olympic

The DK verdict is well-founded, clear, and devastating for Swiss Sports Integrity (SSI). However, Fluckiger remains dismayed. Neither the SSI nor the Swiss Cycling Federation, which had communicated the case to the public as a "positive sample with anabolic steroids," have shown any remorse, insight, or awareness of having made a mistake. Both institutions continue with the tactic of "letting the grass grow over it."

Therefore, Mathias Fluckiger is pleased that the Swiss Olympic Executive Committee has taken over the matter and is now striving to reopen the case. Fluckiger: "My goal is to improve processes and responsibilities. Because the system failed massively in my case, on several occasions. It must be ensured that a case like this does not happen again in Swiss sports. I hope that Swiss Olympic will pave the way for a full investigation of the case."