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http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnew ... 36,00.html

Gibilisco to quit pole vaulting after doping verdict
MILAN, July 8 (Reuters) - Former pole-vault world champion Giuseppe Gibilisco has said he will quit the sport after the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) asked for him to be banned for two years for a doping violation.
CONI, which acts as Italy's anti-doping authority, told the Italian Athletics Federation on Friday to impose the maximum ban on the 28-year-old, who won gold at the world championships in Paris in 2003.
Gibilisco, in Padua for a meet, is waiting to hear if the federation will ratify the ban but has already made up his mind.
"I will jump here at Padua, Tuesday at Lausanne and perhaps Sunday the 15th at Sheffield. Then I will leave athletics. I have been treated like a criminal. This is no longer my world," Gibilisco told Sunday's Gazzetta dello Sport.
"I have never doped, I have never thought of doing it and with this I look everyone in the eye without fear. It is only thanks to my family and my friends that I have avoided an end like Marco Pantani."
Former Tour de France winner Pantani died of a drugs overdose in 2004 after a cycling career dogged by doping allegations.
The investigation into Gibilisco, who also took bronze at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, is part of a long-running Italian doping probe into the clients of doctor Carlo Santuccione, who is alleged to have supplied athletes with doping products.
Cyclist Danilo Di Luca, the 2007 Giro d'Italia winner, is scheduled to attend a doping hearing next Saturday as part of the probe. Di Luca has said he has done nothing wrong.

I am confused... Is there evidence that he doped? It is not really clear what the verdict was, just the punishment. Will that take time, or will we never know?

SlickVT wrote:I am confused... Is there evidence that he doped? It is not really clear what the verdict was, just the punishment. Will that take time, or will we never know?

He never failed a drug test, I think it was more of a guilt by association type thing. I think his house has been raided at least twice in the past few years, but the reports always indicated they never found anything.

He was in court last week in Italy and refused to answer any questions from the court. It is kind of a Tim Montgomery situation. Doctor's files with his name on them, but no positive tests.

Petrov's take on the Gibilisco affair from the Isinterviewâ„¢ I just posted here...
[quote][b]- And finally - a question a little bit “off the topicâ€Â

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/ ... ilisco.php

Former pole vault world champion Giuseppe Gibilisco suspended two years for doping

The Associated Press
Published: July 18, 2007

ROME: Former world champion pole vaulter Giuseppe Gibilisco was banned for two years Wednesday for his alleged role in the "Oil for Drugs" case.

Gibilisco and several other athletes have been linked in the four-year-old case to Italian doctor Carlo Santuccione, who allegedly supplied doping products.

The Italian athletics federation, FIDAL, decided on the ban after a hearing with Gibilisco.

Gibilisco won the world title in 2003 and Olympic bronze medal in 2004.

"I don't understand why I'm in the middle of this mess," Gibilisco said after the sentence was announced, adding that he planned to appeal.

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The Italian Olympic Committee, CONI, had recommended a maximum two-year ban for "the use or attempted use of a banned substance or method."

But Gibilisco is mainly being punished for his association with Santuccione, and became another in a growing list of Italian athletes suspended for doping without ever testing positive.

Cyclists Ivan Basso (two years) and Michele Scarponi (18 months) were recently banned for their alleged involvement in the Spanish blood-doping scandal "Operation Puerto" â€â€

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/ ... ilisco.php

CAS refuses to hear appeal of pole vaulter Giuseppe Gibilisco in doping case

The Associated Press
Published: August 14, 2007

LAUSANNE, Switzerland: Former world pole vault champion Giuseppe Gibilisco failed Tuesday to get his two-year doping ban lifted by the sports world's highest court.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport refused to hear his appeal, saying it does not yet have jurisdiction in the case. The ruling means the Italian athlete's ban remains in place and he is ineligible for the upcoming world championships in Osaka, Japan.

Gibilisco had requested that his suspension be lifted temporarily until the end of the appeals process in order for him to take part in the Aug. 25-Sept. 2 championships.

But CAS said he had not yet exhausted all appeals processes through the Italian athletics federation (FIDAL) and Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).

"Therefore, only a final decision at the level of the Italian sports authorities could possibly be reviewed by the CAS at a later stage," the court said.

FIDAL imposed the ban on July 18 after a hearing with Gibilisco. CONI had recommended the maximum ban for "the use or attempted use of a banned substance or method."

Gibilisco and several other athletes have been linked to a four-year-old doping investigation known as the "Oil for Drugs" case. The probe centers on Italian doctor Carlo Santuccione, who allegedly supplied doping substances.

Gibilisco, who won the world title in 2003 and Olympic bronze medal in 2004, is among a growing list of Italian athletes suspended for doping without testing positive.

Cyclists Ivan Basso (2 years) and Michele Scarponi (18 months) were recently banned for their alleged involvement in the Spanish blood-doping scandal "Operation Puerto" â€â€