PHOENIX, Arizona. THE Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear the case involving Cesar Cielo and the three other Brazilian athletes who tested positive for the banned diuretic furosemide one week from today in Shanghai. This special hearing will determine if the Brazilian swimming federation was right in giving only a warning to the athletes, or if there should be a stricter punishment in the form of suspension. The court said in a press release today that the official ruling will be announced July 22, two days before the start of the swimming competition at the world championships. Cielo is the only one of the four swimmers who is competing at worlds, and he is the reigning champ in the 50 and 100 freestyles.
Since the announcement of the positive drug test and subsequent warning, a couple of Cielo's rivals have voiced their complaints. Eamon Sullivan and Geoff Huegill went to Twitter to question the validity of the warning, implying the punishment was not harsh enough. Australian national team head coach Leigh Nugent said the team is not focusing on the outcome of the court's decision, but concentrating on final preparations for world championships.