Posted at 6:32 a.m., Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Track and field: Ex-world pole vault champ banned
Associated Press
ROME — Former world champion pole vaulter Giuseppe Gibilisco was banned for two years today for his alleged role in the "Oil for Drugs" case.Gibilisco and several other athletes have been linked in the case to Italian doctor Carlo Santuccione, who allegedly supplied doping products.
The Italian athletics federation (FIDAL) decided on the ban after a hearing with Gibilisco.
Gibilisco won the world title in 2003 and Olympic bronze medal in 2004.
"I don't understand why I'm in the middle of this mess," said Gibilisco, who plans to appeal.
The Italian Olympic Committee, CONI, had recommended a maximum two-year ban for "the use or attempted use of a banned substance or method."
Gibilisco is mainly being punished for his association with Santuccione. He's 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.
The case against Gibilisco is built mainly on phone wiretaps. But CONI's anti-doping prosecutor Franco Cosenza said a diary taken from Gibilisco allegedly contained codes for doping substances.
