IRISH SWIMMER FIONA Doyle is unlikely to receive a retrospective gold medal for her performance at the World University Games, despite reports that Yulia Efimova — who beat her to first place — has failed a doping test.
Russia’s Vedemosti newspaper reports that Efimova, who also won a bronze medal at the London Olympics, tested positive for the banned steroid DHEA and could face a two-year ban from the sport.
The 21-year-old is expected to challenge the findings.
However TheScore.ie understands that a confirmed positive is unlikely to affect Doyle, who won silver behind Efimova in Kazan, Russia last July.
As the sample was taken in October, it is not expected to impact on the results from the World University Games.
Reacting to the news, a spokesperson for Swim Ireland told TheScore.ie that, if confirmed, Efimova’s failed test would be “disappointing for the sport.”
While acknowledging that Doyle may feel “robbed” by the race’s outcome, he said that Irish swimming would “move on” and focus on her recent encouraging performances.
On the topic of doping and concerns that it may be prevalent in the swimming world, he added: “You can’t start questioning every performance. Otherwise you’d struggle to cope.”
