IRONMAN DOPING CASE

The Swiss triathlete, Imogen Simmonds, provided a sample under the International Testing Authority (ITA), the independent Results Management Authority of IRONMAN, a half distance triathlon event in more than 40 countries, during an unannounced out-of-competition doping control carried out on 8 December 2024. This resulted in an adverse analytical finding for Ligandrol, which is prohibited under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List as “Other Anabolic Agents” (S1.2).

It is a selective androgen receptor modulator, which promotes muscle growth and enhances physical performance, and is banned – both in and out-of-competition.

In the course of these proceedings, the athlete was able to establish that the presence of ligandrol in her sample was due to inadvertent contamination through intimate contact with her partner, who, unknown to her, was taking supplements containing the prohibited substance.

The athlete was also able to establish that she bore “No Fault or Negligence” for the ADRV and, therefore, no period of ineligibility was imposed on her and, accordingly, the athlete was free to compete immediately.

Furthermore, as the sample was collected out-of-competition, there were no competitive results to be disqualified.

As the athlete accepted the finding of the ADRV, on 24 October 2025, the matter could be considered to be concluded.

However, that may not, in fact, be the end of the matter, as the finding could be challenged before the Appeals Division of the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) by the parties having a right of appeal, including WADA, who have appealed to CAS in the past in similar circumstances, in accordance with the provisions of Article 13.2.3 of the IRONMAN Anti-doping Rules.

We act in doping proceedings in sport in Switzerland and further information is available from Dr Lucien Valloni, Noemi Delli Colli and Kim Gamboni, by emailing them at valloni@valloni.ch, dellicolli@valloni.ch and gamboni@valloni.ch respectively.