Overview
- The German National Anti‑Doping Agency opened a results‑management case and provisionally suspended Alex Schwazer after tests of urine and blood reportedly found erythropoietin in samples from a German racewalking event.
- The samples came from the national marathon‑distance racewalking championships that Schwazer won with a 3:01:55 time, a sample that was collected on April 26 and later analysed by the laboratory in Cologne.
- NADA forwarded documentation to ordinary prosecutors because German law criminalises certain doping conduct, meaning the case could produce both sporting sanctions and criminal charges if the positive is confirmed.
- Schwazer and his team deny doping, say they possess an unusual third reserve urine sample held by coach Sandro Donati, and have stated they will only seek counter‑analyses if that sample is officially tested.
- If the new violation is upheld, anti‑doping rules treat Schwazer as a repeat offender and he faces the rare prospect of permanent disqualification; the development also revives long‑running disputes about lab handling, chain of custody and the personal toll on the athlete.