Olympic skiing champion: Doping scum!

Victoria Carl has given a positive doping sample.

German cross-country skier Victoria Carl has tested positive for doping.

The German Ski Association announced the matter on Wednesday. In the same statement, the association said it believes Carl is innocent.

Carl tested positive for clenbuterol. It is used, among other things, as an asthma medication.

– I was sick and had bad coughing fits. I took the medicine as instructed. I have been open about everything. I did not know that the medicine contained a prohibited substance. I hope that the circumstances will be understood and assessed fairly, Carl said in a press release.

The German said he had used cough medicine that his doctor had prescribed for him during the World Military Ski Championships last March.

Carl said he used the substance after his last competition to treat bronchitis.

– This is in no way the athlete’s fault. He acted in confidence in specialized and competent treatment in an official competition environment, said the competition’s chief doctor in a press release.

The 29-year-old German finished second in the overall World Cup last season.

He won Olympic gold in the pair relay in Beijing in 2022 together with Katharina Hennig.

Last March, she won the World Championship bronze medal as part of the German relay team at the World Championships in Trondheim. The other skiers on the team were Pia Fink, Katharina Hennig and Helen Hofmann.

The German Ski Association says it supports Carl.

– We stand for clean sport, but also for justice and responsibility. Victoria Carl may suffer consequences for which she is not medically responsible, said Stefan Schwarzbach, head of communications for the German Ski Association.

The German anti-doping agency NADA is investigating the case. The German Ski Association and the German Armed Forces say Carl is innocent. They fear that even a short-term ban could mean Carl missing next year’s Winter Olympics and possibly ending his career.