Canadian sprint canoeist Laurence Vincent Lapointe has hearing on doping ban

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Laurence Vincent Lapointe will learn if she is eligible to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics within the next 30 days.

Lapointe, from Trois-Rivieres, Que., attended a closed hearing before the International Canoe Federation's anti-doping panel on Monday.

Trace amounts of Ligandrol were found in her system during a doping control conducted on July 29.

Lapointe, a former world champion in the C-1 200-metre event, has been provisionally suspended. If the punishment is upheld she will not be allowed to compete at next year's Summer Games.

The ICF's anti-doping panel expects to render its decision within the month.

Ligandrol is used to treat conditions such as muscle wasting and osteoporosis but has been added to the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned substances list because it has a similar effect to anabolic steroids.

Lapointe was accompanied to the three-hour meeting by Canoe Kayak Canada CEO Casey Wade and her lawyer Adam Klevinas to present evidence and arguments in response to the anti-doping rule violation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2019.

The Canadian Press

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