Cañas has won the first successful appeal in the history of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The Swiss Federal Tribunal has ordered a new review of the doping case against Cañas.
In 2005 Cañas was at his peak, ranked #8 in the world, when he tested positively for a masking agent. At an ATP tournament, Cañas was given cold medicine by a doctor affiliated with the tournament. He then tested positive for a diuretic that had been banned because it can be used to cloak the presence of other drugs. The diuretic, hydrochlorothiazide, was traced to the cold medicine prescribed by the tournament physician.
Even though Cañas took the diuretic accidentally, CAS arbitrators declared that he was responsible for knowing the ingredients in his medication. According to Cañas’ friend and agent Michael Ducote, “He didn’t sleep for 15 months. He taught himself English so that he could understand the [legal] documents. He wants people to look in his eyes and see he didn’t do it, and stop saying bad things about him. He didn’t want to cheat and he didn’t need to cheat.”
The World Anti-Doping Agency may even revise its code because some member organizations feel the existing process is unfair or impractical. This decision comes at a high point in Cañas’ career, he beat Roger Federer twice this month and is soaring up the rankings.
