Olympic Speedskater Loses Court Battle for ISU Damages

(ATR) The International Skating Union "has welcomed with satisfaction" a ruling by the German federal court against five-time Olympic champion speedskater Claudia Pechstein.

Pechstein, 44, was seeking $5.2 million in damages from the ISU for lost earnings and personal suffering she has endured as a result of the two-year doping ban handed down in 2009, which triggered a series of legal battles. The suspension was for elevated blood levels in her biological passport.

But on Tuesday she lost her claim for damages. Germany’s highest court decided she could not pursue her case further in the civil courts after the Court of Arbitration for Sport had rejected her appeal in 2015. A judgment in her favor would have represented a landmark ruling, eroding the authority of the CAS and paving the way for other athletes sanctioned for doping to appeal for damages.

The ISU, which is meeting in Dubrovnik, Croatia this week for its annual congress, welcomed the ruling, saying it always had "great confidence in and respect of" the federal court "its competence, wisdom and legal professionalism".

"The international fight against doping has got a great support and this fight must be strengthened in particular, taking into consideration all the recent events revealing organized doping," the ISU statement added.

The CAS said the ruling "sets a very significant precedent and emphasizes more than ever the need to have the Court of Arbitration for Sport as the world’s highest sports tribunal."

Despite what it calls a decision that represents a ratification of the current CAS system, the CAS added in its statement that it "will continue to listen and analyze the requests and suggestions of its users, as well as of judges and legal experts in order to continue its development, to improve and evolve with changes in international sport and best practices in international arbitration law with appropriate reforms."

Pechstein has always denied doping – she never failed a drug test – and says she has an inherited blood defect.

Today, she again maintained her innocence and pledged to continue her "battle for justice" at the constitutional court in Germany.

The CAS had supported a two-year ISU ban, twice upheld by the Swiss Federal Tribunal after appeals by Pechstein.It rejected her appeal in March 2015, before a Munich appeals court allowed the speedskating champion to press on with a lawsuit pursuing damages from the International Skating Union.

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