Judo Olympian positive for dope

Brazilian Judo champion and Olympic gold medalist Rafaela Silva said she tested positive for fenoterol, a banned substance, but continued to insist she was clean. (AFP)

Brazil’s Olympic judo champion Rafaela Silva on Friday admitted testing positive for the banned substance fenoterol, which is used to treat asthma, but insisted she was innocent.

“I am clean and I will continue to train and fight to prove my innocence,” Silva told a news conference.

“I tested positive for fenoterol… but I did not use this substance, I am not asthmatic.”

Fenoterol is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances.

Silva, who won Brazil’s first gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, tested positive on 9 August during the Pan American Games where she won the 57-kilogram category.

She went on to win bronze at the World Judo Championships in Tokyo, where she hopes to defend her Olympic title next year.

A second test on 29 August did not show the presence of fenoterol, said Silva, who suggested she may have been exposed to the substance by a friend’s baby.

Her lawyer Bichara Neto told reporters the judo star had not been suspended.