Four-time champion’s ordeal over Briane Harris, the four-time Canadian women’s champion lead for Winnipeg’s Team Kerri Einarson, has won her appeal of the World Curling doping suspension first handed down in February of 2024.
Notice of the appeal verdict came Tuesday from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The decision wipes away Harris’ initial provisional four-year suspension from high-performance curling competition.
“We are so pleased with the outcome of Briane’s case,” said Harris’ lawyers Amanda Fowler and Emir Crowne said in a statement. “Most importantly, we are thrilled that Briane is now able to move forward and rejoin her team in competition.”
The ruling declared that Harris bears no fault or negligence and that there will be no period of ineligibility.
However, the announcement comes months after Harris’ legal team was told that a CAS decision had initially been reached. The delays in releasing the decision, compounded with Harris’ current five-month pregnancy, makes her immediate curling future uncertain.
Adding to the confusion, Team Einarson recently recruited Karlee Burgess away from Team Chelsea Carey to replace second Shannon Birchard, whose season is now over due to delayed recovery from a knee injury.
Harris was sent home shortly before the first stones were to be thrown at the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women’s curling championship.
It was announced that a urine sample produced in prior out-of-competition testing on Jan. 24 had tested positive for a banned substance.
The substance was later revealed to be Ligandrol, which is used to increase muscle growth and overall energy.
Team alternate Krysten Karwacki replaced Harris at the Tournament of Hearts and won an all-star award.
The team finished fifth at the championship after finishing tied for first at 7-1 in their pool.
Karwacki maintained her place in the team lineup this season as Harris remained provisionally suspended. A series of spare players has rotated in and out of the lineup with success, even capturing a Grand Slam title.
The team even created “Alternate Era” merchandise for their fans.
The CAS appeal was launched by Harris and her counsel following the positive B sample result released in March 2024.
“As best as can be determined at this time, Ms. Harris was unknowingly exposed to the banned substance through bodily contact,” Fowler said in a statement that month.
“In the circumstances, Ms. Harris is therefore keen to clear her name and will seek to expedite any process or mechanism to facilitate such vindication.”
Harris’ appeal followed the successful 2019 appeal launched by Canadian canoeist Laurence Vincent Lapointe.
Vincent Lapointe received a provisional suspension that summer after testing positive for trace amounts of Ligandrol. Her ban was overturned by the International Canoe Federation in early 2020.
Vincent Lapointe was cleared to compete when ICF accepted her argument that a trace amount of the substance was transferred to her via the body fluids of an ex-boyfriend.
The athlete, now retired, went on to win bronze and silver medals at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Vincent Lapointe contacted Harris early in the latter’s provisional suspension to show her support.
CAS confirmed their belief that Harris was exposed to ligrandrol through the exchange of bodily fluids with her husband.
“She was exposed to ligandrol due to intimate contacts with her husband during the period when he was consuming the Crossfit Stack,” which contained ligandrol, read the statement.
Harris had argued she was unaware her husband was taking the substance, nor could she have known that intimate contact could have posed a risk of contamination.
The CAS was founded in 1984 and facilitates the settlement of sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation through procedural rules adapted to the specific needs of the sports world.
The organization has nearly 300 arbitrators from 87 countries, chosen for their specialist knowledge of arbitration and sports law. Approximately 300 cases are registered annually.
Harris blasted CAS shortly after Christmas for the delay in releasing their verdict in her case.
In an exclusive with CBC Sports that month, Harris admitted to struggling. “There is absolutely no reason that it should take this long to release a decision while an athlete’s sports career hangs in the balance,” Harris said.
“This is a totally unacceptable procedure by the CAS.
“If I’m right and the decision is in my favour, that potential good news won’t erase the 10 months of punishment I’ve endured with no end in sight … during a time where training and competition is of the utmost importance heading into the fast approaching Olympic trials.”
During her suspension, Harris wasn’t permitted to compete or train nor was she allowed any interaction with her teammates or coach.
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