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U.S. Soccer issues statement after Solo fails anti-doping test

Hope Solo (Getty Images)

A mere days before the U.S. women's national team departs for the Olympics, in comes a bit of bad news for one of the team's best players.

Starting goalkeeper Hope Solo received a public warning from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for a prohibited subtance violation from June, and U.S. Soccer issued a statement regarding the incident on Monday.

"U.S. Soccer received notification from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that Hope Solo tested positive for a banned substance from an out-of competition urine sample she provided on June 15," read the statement. "After discussions with Hope, we fully support her clarification that the positive test for Canrenone was due to the use of a prescribed medication from a personal doctor for pre-menstrual purposes and not related to performance enhancement in any way.

"We fully cooperated with USADA during the disciplinary process to ensure it could be resolved quickly. Hope has accepted the public warning for her rule violation.

U.S. Soccer, Hope and the rest of the Women's National Team staff and players are looking forward to continuing preparations for the 2012 Olympics in London." 

The 30-year-old goalkeeper also issued a statement Monday that explained why she consumed the banned substance.

"I took a medication prescribed by my personal doctor for pre-menstrual purposes that I did not know contained a diuretic," read Solo's statement. "Once informed of this fact, I immediately cooperated with USADA and shared with them everything they needed to properly conclude that I made an honest mistake, and that the medication did not enhance my performance in any way.

"As someone who believes in clean sport, I am glad to have worked with USADA to resolve this matter and I look forward to representing my country at the 2012 Olympic Games in London."

According to the USADA, Canrenone is classified as a Specified Substance and that is why the presence of it an athlete's urine sample can result in a reduced sanction.

The U.S women's national team begin their Olympic campaign on July 25 in the Group G opener against France. They take on Colombia three days later and then close out group play on July 31 versus North Korea.

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Comments

  1. you are incorrect, Can you not read the above article? she is not in trouble, she wasn’t intentionally doping (hardly) like some of the other scum you mention. She proved the source of the testing, through her primary care physician. Therefore, she is not in trouble. She did nothing wrong.

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  2. ignorance! it is all in the article people. She is not getting banned. She’s not on steroids, or taking performance enhancing substances. Most sad is that her private life, and what she was taking meds for, had to be put out in public, it’s not our business.
    So, the specific PMS drug given, as it would make sense, is a diruetic. How is that gonna help enhance the performance of a SOCCER player? It would merely dehydrate her and have her running to the bathroom. Perhaps this substance would raise some eyebrows in the wrestling world or in a sport like gymnastics; laughable in the sport of soccer. Pissing must be a real advantage upon the opponent! LOL

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  3. What if there is a legit reason for her taking the drug? What if her doctor had test results to back up the prescription? there is more to the story then we will get told because Solo still has the right to keep her medical records private. Now it is ‘possible’ that she was using it for purposes other then its intended manufacturing but there had to have been some sort of investigation. I doubt that the USADA would simply let her slide, this is the same agency going after Lance Armstrong right now.

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  4. You are correct it wasn’t the U22, it was the U-17:

    http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/7115036/clenbuterol-found-most-players-17-world-cup

    AND

    even the Mexican Gold Cup team:

    http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2011-06-09-mexican-players-test-positive_n.htm

    None of the Mexican soccer players to the best of my knowledge were ever sanctioned.

    So I was correct, but not on the age group.

    Which proves my point that a zero-tolerance sport will severely sanction their athletes for even the smallest infractions and that Soccer is not yet at that point of a zero-tolerance sport.

    It does not mean that soccer will not sanction PED performance enhancing drug) transgressors when caught, it means that saner heads prevail at FIFA and Concacaf and minor offenses are treated as such

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