EXCLUSIVE! Claudia Poll Speaks Out

By Phillip Whitten

Note: Last week, Olympic champion Claudia Poll became the first prominent swimmer to have a four-year ban cut in half by FINA. Poll tested positive for norandrosterone in February, 2002.

The action by FINA was not unexpected: In July, the FINA Congress, under extreme pressure from the IOC and WADA, voted to reduce the penalty for first-time doping offenses from four years to two. FINA let it be known that, beginning September 11, it would consider reducing the penalties of swimmers banned before July on a case-by-case basis.

SwimInfo interviewed Claudia Poll after FINA announced it will reinstate her in February 2004, allowing her to compete at the 2004 Athens Games. Here is what she had to say.

SwimInfo: When did you learn of FINA's decision reducing your penalty from four years to two?
Poll: Based on international law we knew this was going to happen since July. We were formally informed this week.

SwimInfo: What was your reaction?
Poll: None, because I am fighting to prove I am innocent, not for a reduction of the suspension. It is a step forward, but this is independent from all the legal procedures and avenues we are working on at the moment.

SwimInfo: What was the reaction of your coach, Francisco Rivas?
Poll: The same, because we are working together in the search of justice and the truth.

SwimInfo Have you heard from the Costa Rican National Olympic Committee?
Poll: No.

SwimInfo: Have you continued training during your ban?
Poll: I have not stopped training a single day, with annual programs that include time trials at an national and international level.

SwimInfo: Will you continue to try and vindicate yourself?
Poll: Of course I will. We have become experts in FINA and IOC rules with regard to doping control, accredited labs, WADA, ILAC, ISO certifications and what not, and it is a world that most athletes would never imagine. Scientists from the Untied Kingdom and the Netherlands have proven that I am innocent. I will continue to fight to prove it, and it does not matter how many years it takes to do so.

SwimInfo: How will you react to competitors who will continue to treat you as though you used steroids?
Poll: I am very thankful for all the support I've received from fellow swimmers and the swimming community during this time. For those who do not think that way, I can only respect them.

SwimInfo: What's next for you? What meets do you plan to compete in?
Poll: What's next is to continue this battle until there is justice. I will continue my program with time trials until the end of March, when I will start competing again.

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