Russian sprinter Denis Galimzyanov has been handed a punishment of 100 lines – ‘I must not use EPO’ in Russian – after admitting to using the banned substance.
“Я не должен использовать EPO, Я не должен использовать EPO, Я не должен использовать EPO, Я не должен использовать EPO, Я не должен использовать EPO, Я не должен использовать EPO, Я не должен использовать EPO, Я не должен использовать EPO…”
We jest, of course – but that’s what sprung to mind when Galimzyanov posted a hand-written admission of guilt on his Facebook page.
The 25-year-old was provisionally suspended by his team, Katusha, on Monday following a positive test for EPO in a sample submitted as part of an out of competition doping test on March 22 and has now waived his right to have his B sample analysed
The letter, signed and dated by Galimzyanov, reads:
“Letter of explanation
I, the undersigned Denis Galimzyanov, rider of Katusha Team, want to clear up the current matter with my positive doping tests. On March 22, 2012, being in Italy, I received a visit from anti-doping control officers in an out of competition time. A month later, a urine sample taken during that visit indicated EPO.
I recognize a fact of banned substance usage.
I fully realized (sic) what I did.
I deeply regret about what happened, and I apologize to the whole team and my teammates, along with my fans whom I disappointed.
I am ready to suffer an appropriate punishment.
I would like to draw A PARTICULAR ATTENTION for that fact that Katusha Team has nothing to do with what happened. No team member knew and could know about what I did. It was my personal decision and my responsibility.
I refuse from my right to request and attend the analysis of my B sample.”
Galimzyanov’s admission saves us the did-he-didn’t-he saga which accompanies most doping scandals but the letter, as beautiful as the 2011 Paris-Brussels winner’s handwriting is, smacks of amateurism.
The Russian cycling federation and the UCI will, of course, decide Galimzyanov’s fate, but he faces certain dismissal from Katusha and the prospect of a two-year ban.
