SAO PAULO, 3 August 2003 — Brazilian long jumper Maurren Higa Maggi confirmed on Friday that she had failed a doping test after using a banned substance during a depilation session.
Maggi, who will not be able to defend the Pan American Games gold medals she won in Winnipeg four years ago, blamed her own vanity for the incident which could lead to a two-year ban.
She admitted having used the banned substances clostebol, which was contained in depilation cream used at the end of the treatment.
“It’s my fault, my carelessness,” she told a media conference.
“I’m very vain, I always comb my hair before competitions and put on eye shadow. I always have depilation before competitions but I never thought the depilation cream could contain a banned substance.”
Maggi, who failed the test after a meeting in Belem, northern Brazil, in early May, said she was confident she could convince the authorities of her innocence.
“I know I’m innocent and I think the reasons I will produce during the hearing will be sufficient.” Maggi won gold medals in both the long jump and 100 metres hurdles in 1999. Lygia Kogos, a dermatologist who owns the clinic where Maggi goes for depilation, said: “She always ask about all treatments, the medicines used, everything. The only thing she didn’t ask about was the cream because she didn’t consider it to be a medicine.”
