A Winter Olympics athlete has successfully persuaded officials to lift her doping ban, having claimed she was inadvertently contaminated after sharing a spoon with her sick mother while eating a jar of Nutella.
Italian biathlete Rebecca Passler, 24, was handed a precautionary suspension and told she could not compete at the Winter Olympics in Milan after testing positive for the banned substance letrozole during training last month.
But the Italian National Anti-Doping Prosecutor’s Office have now given Passler permission to compete after she presented compelling evidence to the panel.
After competing in the Biathlon World Cup in Czech Republic last month, Passler returned home where she lives with her parents and her sister, before taking her doping test two days later.
In documents submitted to the panel, it was noted that the athlete’s mother Herlinde Kargruber, who is suffering from breast cancer, has been undergoing continuous endocrine therapy and taking the drug letrozole since June 2025.
Claiming that she was unaware her mother took the medication daily, Passler argued that she consumed shared foods with her mother during her time at home, in particular a jar of Nutella they tucked into together with a shared spoon, according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Winter Olympics star Rebecca Passler has had her doping ban lifted after claiming she was inadvertently contaminated from a spoon she shared with her sick mother while eating Nutella
The Italian biathlete positive for the banned substance letrozole during training last month
After a review, officials were confident enough to give the 24-year-old biathlete, who was given a negative result when she took a doping test in December 2025, the benefit of the doubt, permitting her to compete.
It was also recognised that Passler’s positive doping test ahead of the Games came back with low doses of the banned substance in her urine.
Passler said she was thrilled to be able to rejoin her team after the verdict was passed on Friday, although she will miss Saturday’s women’s sprint race and Sunday’s pursuit before officially returning on Monday.
‘They have been very difficult days,’ she said in a statement released by the Italian Winter Sports Federation (FISI).
‘I have always believed in my good faith. I thank all those who helped me, from the lawyers who followed my situation, to the Italian Winter Sports Federation, to my family and friends. Now I can finally get back to focusing 100% on biathlon.’
FISI president Flavio Roda added: ‘The Federation welcomes the outcome of the appeal that allows Rebecca to return to the team’s disposal.’
The suspension has only been temporarily lifted so that she can compete in Milan, with no comment having yet been made by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Therefore, Passler could still ultimately face a lengthy ban after the Winter Olympics once the appeals process is complete.
