Updated at 8:25 a.m., Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Track and field: Pole vaulter doping-ban appeal refused
Associated Press
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Former world pole vault champion Giuseppe Gibilisco failed today to get his two-year doping ban lifted by world sport's highest court.The Court of Arbitration for Sport refused to hear his appeal, saying it does not yet have jurisdiction in the case. The ruling means the Italian athlete's ban remains in place and he is ineligible for the upcoming world championships in Osaka, Japan.
Gibilisco had requested that his suspension be lifted temporarily until the end of the appeals process in order for him to take part in the Aug. 25-Sept. 2 championships.
But CAS said he had not yet exhausted all appeals processes through the Italian athletics federation and Italian Olympic Committee.
Gibilisco and several other athletes have been linked to a four-year-old doping investigation known as the "Oil for Drugs" case.
Gibilisco, who won the world title in 2003 and Olympic bronze medal in 2004, is among a growing list of Italian athletes suspended for doping without testing positive.
Cyclists Ivan Basso (2 years) and Michele Scarponi (18 months) were recently banned for their alleged involvement in the Spanish blood-doping scandal "Operation Puerto" _ also without testing positive.
