With all other parties having already agreed to an expedited hearing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the ultimate authority in the matter, the four Brazilian swimmers who tested positive for furosemide at the Maria Lenk Trophy have followed suit, according to swim.com.br, who has led much of the breaking news in the Cielo case.. This means that Cielo’s eligibility for the 2011 World Championships will be decided before the swimming competition begins July 24th.
This was the only wise decision by the Brazilians, who surely fell in-line behind Cielo. If he had declined speedy arbitration, then the case could have potentially been drug out to the point where any suspension would have run through the 2012 London Olympics. Without much expectation that he will gain more than a 6-month suspension, and thus fall under the IOC’s controversial Rule-45, this was the only decision that made sense for him.
