French Olympian Thibus Cleared of Doping by CAS

French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus was cleared of doping charges after the Court of Arbitration for Sport accepted her defense that she was contaminated with the banned substance ostarine through kissing her American partner, U.S. fencer Race Imboden, who had been unknowingly taking the drug. The court found scientific evidence confirming that ostarine could be transmitted via saliva during a nine-day period of kissing, ruling the positive test as unintentional and that Thibus bore no fault or negligence. This decision overturned a four-year suspension sought by the World Anti-Doping Agency and allowed Thibus to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she finished fifth in the women's team foil event. The ruling echoed a similar case from 2009, involving French tennis player Richard Gasquet, who was cleared with a comparable defense known as the "cocaine kiss". Thibus had expressed gratitude for the support she received during her ordeal and highlighted her perseverance through injury and injustice on her social media following the Games. The case highlights the complexities involved in doping allegations and the evidentiary considerations related to contamination defenses.