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Summary Olympic 50 km race walk champion Schwazer said he feels relieved after being caught in doping test.
Olympic 50 km race walk champion Alex Schwazer, who was excluded from the London Games for doping, said on Wednesday it was a relief to be caught for taking blood-booster EPO because of the guilt he felt after hiding it even from his girlfriend.The Italians positive test was revealed two days ago when the 27-year-old, who now believes his career is over, was provisionally banned by his national Olympic Committee.By injecting Erythropoietin (EPO), athletes aim to increase the concentration of red blood cells and consequently their aerobic capacity and athletic performance.Flanked by his lawyer and his manager, and with his father in the audience, Schwazer referred to his girlfriend - world champion figure skater Carolina Kostner - repeatedly, saying he regretted lying to her.Schwazer suggested he actually wanted to get caught because the guilt was psychologically devastating. He said he could have tried to skip the July 30 doping test knowing he had made a final injection a day earlier, but did not.Even if he had not tested positive, he said he would not have gone to London for the 50 km race, which is scheduled for Saturday.Schwazer now hopes to lead a normal life away from athletics where he sees his girlfriend every night instead of just twice a month.Ansa news agency reported that Bolzano prosecutor Guido Rispoli had opened a probe against Schwazer into whether he committed the criminal offence of sporting fraud, which carries up to a three-year jail sentence.He also faces disciplinary action by a military tribunal because he is a member of the military police, or Carabinieri, Ansa said.
