Walsh’s US prospect cleared after doping ‘caused by sex’
ONE OF Billy Walsh’s top Olympic prospects has been cleared of a doping offence after the USA AntiDoping Agency ruled that banned substances in her sample were transmitted during sex.
Texas flyweight Virginia Fuchs’ urine sample was flagged for two banned substances on February
13, but she was cleared following a further investigation.
The 32-year-old had Wexford-native Walsh in her corner when she won Pan American silver and world bronze in 2019 and 2018 and she beat Ireland’s Ceire Smith earlier this year.
Walsh, the former Irish Athletic
Boxing Association head coach, is the current USA chief seconds.
“During a thorough investigation into the circumstances of Fuchs’ case, USADA determined that Fuchs’ male partner was using therapeutic doses of letrozole and GW1516,” said the USADA in a statement.
“The low amounts of letrozole metabolite and GW1516 metabolites detected in her sample were consistent with recent exposure to the substances via sexual transmission.”
“This has been a huge lesson for me, and now that is over I’m fully focused on preparing for Tokyo,” said Fuchs via social media.
Meanwhile, Team USA Boxing has returned to training under Walsh at their base in Colorado.
The Americans will continue to practise social distancing and other safety measures in camp.
The USA was building for the Americas qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics in Buenos Aires last April, but the tournament was cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Americas qualifiers will now take place next February and March. The European qualifiers will also be decided around that time.
As things stand, the African and Asia/Oceania qualifiers are completed, but the Americas, European and final world qualifier have yet to be decided.
The European event was postponed on March 16 in London after three days of competition because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sixteen flyweights and featherweights, including Ireland’s Brendan Irvine, secured qualification hours before the tournament was shelved.