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Italian fencer replaced after failing drugs test

Italy’s world No. 1 foil fencer Andrea Baldini, one of the favorites to win gold at the Beijing Olympics, has failed a drugs test, the Italian fencing federation (FIS) said yesterday.

The 22-year-old athlete controlled positive for the banned diuretic furosemide at the European Championships in Kiev last month.

Baldini will miss the Games and be replaced in the Italian fencing squad by Andrea Cassara.

Furosemide is more commonly known as Lasix and appears on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned drug list in its capacity as an alleged masking agent.

FIS president Giorgio Scarso spoke of his “astonishment and deep regret” at the news.

In its statement the FIS said it had asked for Baldini’s second sample to be examined “as quickly as possible.”

“In the light of this positive test the Italian national Olympic committee has excluded the athlete from the Olympic team,” the federation said.

Baldini’s Beijing stand-in, Cassara, and Italy’s other selected fencer Salvatore Sanzo, will leave for China today.

Baldini, a dual European champion, was beaten in the foil final by Germany’s Peter Joppich at the world fencing championships in September last year.
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