Conor Benn has been cleared of a doping offense after the World Boxing Council (WBC) ruled that a “highly elevated consumption of eggs” constituted a “reasonable explanation” for his positive finding.
A scheduled catchweight “grudge” bout against British rival Chris Eubank Jr scheduled for October last year was canceled after trace amounts of a fertility drug, clomiphene — which is known to elevate testosterone levels in men — were found in Benn’s urine.
Benn, 26, had denied intentionally or knowingly ingesting any banned substances and in December last year broke his silence in a long post on Instagram, saying: “The truth will soon come out.”
Photo: Reuters
On Wednesday, the WBC, having consulted a nutritionist, announced that it was reinstating the London boxer in its rankings and stated there was “no conclusive evidence that Benn engaged in intentional or knowing ingestion of clomiphene.”
“Mr Benn’s documented and highly elevated consumption of eggs during the times relevant to the sample collection raised a reasonable explanation for the adverse finding,” it said. “The WBC shall include Mr Benn in its ratings during the period immediately following the issuance of its ruling.”
The global governing body said that it would correspond with the World Anti-Doping Agency over concerns about clomiphene as a food contaminant and “the potential for false positives caused by ingestion of contaminated food.”
Photo: AP
Despite the WBC ruling, Benn remains under investigation by UK Anti-Doping and the British Boxing Board of Control.
Until their inquiries are finished, Benn will not be licensed to box in the UK, but could fight in another country under a different jurisdiction.
Taiwan’s participation in the Olympic Games has been a story of politics as much as sports, with the name it has competed under since 1984 — Chinese Taipei — drawing as much attention as its athletes. However, with the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad set to begin in Paris on Friday, the exploits of Taiwan’s athletes past and present who have won 36 medals since the country’s debut in Melbourne in 1956 deserve a nod. Many of Taiwan’s medal winners have gained considerable name recognition, but only two have achieved legendary status — Maysang Kalimud and Chi Cheng, the only medal winners
Shohei Ohtani on Sunday hit a 473-foot (144m) home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers went deep six times in a 9-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes and Jason Heyward also connected as Los Angeles swept the three-game series. “Going into the break, we weren’t playing good baseball, and then to come out fresh against a really good ball club and to play the way we did — the offense came to life,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. It was the 25th time the Dodgers launched at least six homers in a game
Canada women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman on Wednesday said she would step away from the team’s opening game against New Zealand at the Paris Olympics in the wake of a drone scandal. New Zealand complained to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit after it said drones were flown over closed practice sessions earlier in the week. As of press time last night, Canada, the defending Olympic champions, were set to open the Paris Games against New Zealand in Saint-Etienne. In the fallout of the complaint, two staff members — assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi — were sent home, the
Conventional wisdom dictates that the average retirement age for elite female players in the intense and physically demanding sport of badminton is well under 30 years old. Five female shuttlers are set to turn that on its head when they make their fourth Olympic appearances at the Paris Games, a feat never accomplished before. Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying, 30, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, 29, Belgium’s Lianne Tan, 33, and Hong Kong’s Tse Ying Suet and Canada’s Michelle Li, both 32, are to compete for Olympic glory at Porte de La Chapelle Arena from Saturday to Aug. 5. “These achievements get missed because they’re women,” said