Olympic Fencer Ysaora Thibus Cleared of Doping by Court Citing Kissing Contamination

French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus was cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) of a doping violation after judges accepted her defense that she was contaminated with the anabolic substance ostarine through kissing her then-partner, American fencer Race Imboden, who had been unknowingly using the banned substance. The CAS ruled that the contamination occurred over a nine-day period and that the amount of ostarine in Imboden's saliva was sufficient to transfer to Thibus, dismissing an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which sought a four-year ban. Thibus had initially been provisionally suspended after testing positive in January 2024 but was cleared by the International Fencing Federation before the Paris Olympics, allowing her to compete where she placed fifth in the women's team foil and 28th individually. The case parallels a similar precedent involving tennis player Richard Gasquet, who was also cleared after accidental contamination through kissing. CAS emphasized that Thibus bore no fault or negligence in the contamination, supporting her argument of innocence. This ruling preserves Thibus's eligibility for future competition, including a potential run at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.