On 7/7, CAS announced it had rejected the appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which sought a four-year ban for Thibus. The international fencing federation's disciplinary tribunal had previously cleared the French athlete, but WADA objected.

"The CAS panel ruled that Thibus' anti-doping rule violation, due to the presence of ostarine, was unintentional. The athlete's negligence or no-fault was beyond doubt," the CAS ruling stated.

Ysaora Thibus and her fiance Race Imboden, a former American fencer. Photo: AFP

Ysaora Thibus and her fiance Race Imboden, a former American fencer. Photo: AFP

Thibus tested positive for ostarine, a banned muscle-building substance, at a tournament in Paris in 1/2024. She later explained that "sexual contact" with her fiance, former fencer Race Imboden, caused her to be unintentionally contaminated through the exchange of "bodily fluids."

In 5/2024, the international fencing federation declared Thibus innocent. Three months later, she and the French team finished 5th at the Olympics on home soil. Thibus' best achievement with the team was a silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Thibus and Imboden met at a party after the 2016 Olympics and began dating soon after. They got engaged at a hotel in Paris after the 2021 Olympics.

Thibus' case is similar to the 2009 case of fellow French athlete Richard Gasquet, a tennis player who was cleared after arguing that he tested positive for cocaine because he kissed someone at a nightclub.

Thanh Quy (via ESPN)