Olympics
Italian biathlete Rebecca Passler has become one of the first athletes connected to the Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics to test positive for a banned substance, marking an early doping case as the Games get underway.
Passler tested positive on Monday, February 2, for Letrozole, a drug commonly prescribed to postmenopausal women with breast cancer that works by blocking estrogen production. In competitive sports, Letrozole is classified as a prohibited substance due to its use in masking the side effects of testosterone enhancement. While athletes seeking increased testosterone often experience elevated estrogen as a byproduct, drugs like Letrozole suppress estrogen-related effects such as gynecomastia and water retention, making them attractive within doping regimes.
The Italian anti-doping agency (NADO) provisionally suspended Passler following the positive test, and the Italian Olympic Committee subsequently barred her from the Olympic team.
On the grandest stage in sport—where milliseconds separate medals—athletes have long sought every possible advantage. Doping scandals are hardly new to the Olympics or elite competition more broadly. In sprinting, only nine of the 30 fastest 100m sprint times ever run, were achieved by someone who has never tested positive—Usain Bolt. The Winter Games in Sochi were later revealed to be the site of the largest state-sponsored doping program in sporting history. In cycling, more than half of Tour de France winners since 1966 have tested positive.
Milano–Cortina has already faced controversy, from ski jumping equipment violations to now its first major performance-enhancing drug case.
Passler is appealing her provisional suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), arguing that her positive test was the result of contamination rather than intentional use. According to CAS, “Ms. Passler requests CAS to annul the suspension due to lack of intent and negligence and to allow her to participate in the Olympic Winter Games.” The appeal does not dispute the presence of Letrozole in her system but claims it was unknowingly ingested via a contaminated substance.
Contamination defenses have succeeded in the past. In 2021, 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) but were later cleared after investigators attributed the findings to contamination in a hotel kitchen. Those athletes were ultimately allowed to compete at the 2024 Tokyo Olympics.
CAS is expected to hear Passler’s appeal on Tuesday, ahead of her scheduled Olympic events. If successful, she would be eligible to compete Wednesday in the 15-kilometer race in her hometown of Anterselva and again on Saturday in the 7.5-kilometer event.
Performance-enhancing drugs remain a persistent issue in elite sport, balancing the pursuit of fair competition against the risk of unjust punishment. While governing bodies aim to protect clean athletes, contamination cases continue to complicate enforcement. Passler’s hearing will determine whether this case becomes another confirmed doping violation—or another example of how narrow the margin is between guilt and innocence in modern anti-doping.
