October 2, 2010 (Lausanne, Switzerland) – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeal filed by the Russian cross-country skier Yuliya Chepalova against the decision of the Anti-Doping Panel of the International Skiing Federation (FIS) of December 22, 2009 imposing a two-year ban on the athlete following a positive doping test with recombinant EPO. Yuliya Chepalova was tested in January 2009 after a World Cup event in Val di Fiemme.

On January 12, 2010, Yuliya Chepalova filed an appeal with the CAS to request the annulment of her suspension. She has put forward that the analysis of her urine sample did not demonstrate the presence of exogenous r-EPO in her body and that the method applied by the WADA-accredited laboratory in Dresden/Germany confirmed the endogenous origin of the EPO found in her body. She has also alleged the existence of numerous departures from the standard norms for laboratories which, according to her, should invalidate the adverse analytical finding reported by the Dresden Laboratory. A Panel of CAS arbitrators heard the athlete and the parties’ representatives during a hearing in Lausanne on June 14, 2010.

The CAS Panel has entirely rejected the objections raised by the athlete and has confirmed the 2-year suspension imposed by the FIS Anti-Doping Panel.