Jean-Claude Alvarez, an expert who was part of the team with which Simona Halep appeared in the TAS (Tribunal of Arbitration for Sport), spoke in an interview with L’Equipe about how he managed to prove that the supplement used by the former WTA leader was contaminated with roxadustat.

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The device, which was used by experts in the case of Simona Halep, costs 600 thousand euros

According to the French newspaper, Alvarez used the mass spectrometer, which costs 600,000 euros, to prove that “Simone was not doping”.

“Here we mainly conduct clinical toxicology (hair analysis for hospitals) and forensics. I’m a paralegal, we intervene in certain death cases to find out what the victim consumed, or in rape cases where drugs are involved.

We try to save athletes when we are sure of their innocence. The principle is simple. The athlete turns to me because he wants to prove that he has become a victim of infection.

We cut the hair inch by inch, grind it, then extract the molecules of interest. We run them through a spectrometer and see everything that has been consumed. Based on the result, I can tell whether an athlete is doping or not.

If the test is negative, please bring me all the products that the athlete consumes. With Simona, I analyzed everything and discovered the substance in the collagen powder.

The fight against doping is not effective. I am a pharmacologist, of course, I am against doping. It should be banned, but let’s catch the real cheaters and stop wasting time on those who don’t do doping. Authorities must recognize the existence of pollution” – Jean Claude Alvarezin an interview with L’Equipe.

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About the doping case of Simona Halep

• The news that Simona Halep was temporarily suspended for doping appeared on Friday, October 21, 2022.

• Simona’s case was heard by Sport Resolutions, an independent tribunal in London that hears doping cases in white sport.

• Halep was suspended for 4 years for two separate violations of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program (TADP): the presence and use of the substance roxadustat in a urine sample collected after an anti-doping test conducted at the 2022 US Open (1) and a violation of her biological passport (2).

• Halep was heard at the CAS on February 7-9, 2024.

• TAS reduced Simona Halep’s sentence from 4 years to 9 months.

• On August 29, 2022, Simona Halep played her last official match on the world stage. At the US Open, in the inaugural round, our athlete unexpectedly defeated Daria Snigur (at that time, 124th place in the WTA, based on the qualification).

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