EPO-positive French steeplechaser presses charges over poisoning

Paris, Dec 17 (AFP) French 3,000 metre steeplechase specialist Ophelie Claude-Boxberger, who tested positive for EPO in September, has pressed charges against her father-in-law for poisoning her, her lawyer said Tuesday. Claude-Boxberger filed charges in her home town of Montbeliard in eastern France for an "attack on physical integrity by administration of harmful substances", Laurent Clauzon told AFP.

The 31-year-old has been under investigation by Paris prosecutors into offences under anti-doping and poisonous substances legislation following a report from the French anti-doping agency (AFLD). Claude-Boxberger has persistently denied she knowingly took a doping substance. Alain Flaccus, her father-in-law and part of her coaching setup, admitted last month to having administered her an injection of the banned endurance-boosting drug EPO.

But a source close to the investigation has since called for "prudence" on Flaccus' claim, saying he might have made the choice to "sacrifice himself" as the only way for the athlete to escape a four-year ban. AFP SSC SSC SSC