Thus, although the International Skating Union called Barquero “negligent”, it considered the non-intentional presence of the component to be proven and, therefore, imposed the minimum possible sanction: 1 year. As stated in the consent award signed on September 6, 2022: the ISU imposed a suspension period from February 22, 2022 to February 21, 2023.
The decision was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which considered that there were aspects of the process that had not been sufficiently investigated: who had provided the cream, where and how it had been acquired, etc.
Although the sentence was appealed, as there was no new one, Laura Barquero and her partner Marco Zandron returned to prepare for the 2023 world championships that would take place in Saitama (Japan). Following the regulations, they returned to training two months before completing the year of suspension, but a few days after skating again, she tested positive for clotella again.
“A few days after I started training, I underwent a new anti-doping test and again tested positive for clostridium, with new hair studies confirming that the most likely cause was transdermal contamination and not the use of the substance,” he explains.
“ I can’t give much more information about the second positive because I don’t have it . I had taken all the precautions, I changed my routine to avoid any risk of contamination.” I practically lived in a glass case, I was careful with everything. It couldn’t be possible. Again I thought it had to be a mistake. I quickly contacted the scientist and he told me to go immediately to the toxicology center to have the appropriate tests done.