Gil Roberts, a sprinter who claimed a gold medal in 2016 Summer Olympics as part of America's relay team, has been exonerated after a failed drugs test looked set to derail his hopes of competing in 2020 edition of the games.
The 28-year old from Oklahoma had hinged his defence upon the rationale that a case of misjudged "tongue kissing" with his sick girlfriend had caused the resulting fail.
Incredibly, Roberts, with the willing testimony of his girlfriend Alex Salazar (a contentious surname within athletics, but no reported connection), convinced the appeals court that the whole incident was a misunderstanding:
We weren't even embarrassed in the courtroom. It felt very technical. We had passport stamps, receipts, and all of the dates lined up perfectly.
Detailing the case for the prosecution, the New York Times reported that some were less than convinced with Roberts' initially laughable excuse:
Even with such cross-contamination scientifically possible, regulators argued his account was implausible — including an antibiotic regimen his girlfriend had not seen through to completion, leaving one capsule as evidence.
Regulators called him reckless and at fault for even an inadvertent violation.
Yet, for Roberts, his priorities were clear enough; "I'm like, how can I be negligent for kissing my girl?"
Initial concerns with how such a cross-contamination could have taken place as a result of "passionate kissing" if the ill-party was taking capsules? Well, they had an answer for that too:
She testified about her aversion to swallowing pills, which prompted her to empty each capsule’s contents onto her tongue.
And she testified about the frequent and passionate kissing. Roberts produced his urine sample roughly three hours afterward, she said.
Far from the most outlandish attempt at dodging uncomfortable results by anti-doping agencies, Roberts' turnaround will leave such bodies looking a little embarrassed themselves.
As far as trying to avoid such a potentially disastrous result again, the vulnerable Salazar has stated that "anything I take now, I think twice before I even go near him."
