End of career after doping accusation
The Sara Benfares case takes another wild turn
March 19, 2024, 10:01 a.m
The Sara Benfares case hit German athletics “like a bomb”, and now there is a new twist in the case: the athlete, who is facing proceedings from the National Anti-Doping Agency, will end her career.
Track and field athlete Sara Benfares, who is suspected of doping, has ended her career, according to her lawyer. This was reported by Saarländischer Rundfunk with reference to the 22-year-old’s legal counsel. The European Championship and World Cup participant tested positive for testosterone and the blood doping drug Epo. Her father justified this in a French portal by saying that his daughter was suffering from bone cancer and should not have waited to take urgent medication. However, there is no necessary medical exemption for taking the corresponding preparations.
Sara Benfares’ lawyer Dubravko Mandic spoke in the SR report of his client’s diffuse bone disease and she was currently being treated by a doctor in France. That’s why it’s not a doping case; he expects the NADA proceedings to be ended shortly. Samir Benfares had announced the step to end his daughter’s career.
After Sara Benfares, her younger sister Sofia Benfares also tested positive for Epo. This was confirmed by the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA). Both athletes were subsequently excluded from their club, LC Rehlingen. The membership of the older sister Selma was also withdrawn. Mandic explained that he does not represent Sofia, who is also suspected of doping.
“This is of course what hit us like a bomb. We are of course very affected,” Jörg Bügner, director of sports in the German Athletics Association (DLV), recently told the ARD “Sportschau” about the case : “And of course our strategy is still clear. We stand 100 percent for the anti-doping fight, for clean and fair sport. And of course that has left a deep mark on us, that has to be said very clearly.”