Dominican Lisvel Eve Mejia faces a four-year doping ban

Santo Domingo—VOlleyball player Lisvel Eve Mejía has been excluded from the Dominican national team that will participate in the 2024 Olympic Games due to a positive doping test.faces a four-year ban.

However, the verdict could be appealed because she admitted to taking medication containing furosemide, a substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). This drug is on the banned list because it is used to mask other substances in the body.

“There is no chance that she will not be suspended. She will be suspended even if she has admitted to drug use. This will help us to fight by example for a reduction in the sentence, because the regulations state that for this substance 4 years are automatically imposed,” said Dr. Victor Figuereo, doctor of the Dominican national team.

Figueroa said that furosemide is a diuretic.

When it was announced that “La China” had tested positive for doping, the Dominican Republic Olympic Committee said that the player had said she had taken the drug without knowing exactly what it contained. She had only said that she had “fluid retention”.

“It is a very unfortunate case. I feel very bad and disappointed in myself. It was a failure on my part not to have the drug I take to control the fluid retention in my body (furosemide) examined beforehand, which led to a doping test at the last VLN,” said Lisvel Eve Mejiain in the Olympic Committee’s statement.

“Despite the incident, the athlete said she was at peace with herself, considering herself an integrated, honest, calm and hardworking young woman, and thanked her teammates, especially Cristóbal Marte and director Milagros Cabral, for their support,” the committee added.