Celestino Fernández's sanction is withdrawn: the doping case that was not
Today we have not woken up with the recent news that Celestino Fernández, Spanish Duathlon Champion, In 2022, his five-year ban for alleged doping was lifted.
For a year and a half, the athlete maintained his innocence, arguing that the urine sample that convicted him had never been his. In the end, a judge ruled in his favour and annulled the suspension following the DNA test he had requested.
Below, we tell you all the details of this case that has generated debate in the national sports world, and how ordinary justice has ended up imposing the truth over the initial controversy.
The sanction that sparked the controversy
In February 2023, during the La Plana Challenge cycling event, an anti-doping test was carried out that allegedly indicated the presence of oxandrolone in the urine of Celestino Fernández.
For this reason, the athlete - who also works as a police officer - was exposed to a doping accusation. He always claimed that the liquid analysed was not his and sought ways to prove it, although his requests were not taken into account at first.
The Spanish Commission for the Fight against Doping in Sport (CELAD) imposed a five-year sanction, which was made official in April 2024.
This ruling excluded a Spanish champion from competition, known for his performances in duathlon and for maintaining, according to his testimony, strict sporting discipline. Faced with this situation, the affected party opted to go to the ordinary courts, setting in motion a process that took several months to resolve.
Why DNA testing was decisive
On their social networks, Celestino Fernández He explained that the key to his appeal was based on genetic confirmation that the sample did not belong to him.
He repeatedly asked anti-doping authorities to allow him to undergo a DNA comparison with the urine that showed the positive result for oxandrolone. CELAD denied that request on three occasions, leaving the athlete with no options to clear his name.
Unwilling to give up, the duathlete took his claim to court. There, the judge ordered the DNA test to be carried out in Madrid in September 2024.
By November, the results were overwhelming: the genetic profile detected in the sample did not match that of Celestino FernándezThis confirmation was sufficient to reopen the case and review the sanction.
The intervention of ordinary justice
The athlete's appeal to the ordinary courts allowed a judge to evaluate evidence that had not initially been considered at the administrative level.
The court took into account the results of laboratory tests, which showed that the urine analysed came from a different man.
On January 27, 2025, the judge officially announced that the five-year sanction was no longer in effect.
Since the absence of doping by the Celestino FernándezThe ruling also calls into question the protocol followed by anti-doping agencies, which did not respond to the athlete's repeated requests to prove his innocence through scientific means from the outset.
Celestino Fernandez's words after the verdict
Through his social networks, the 2022 Spanish duathlon champion expressed his relief at the outcome of the process:
“I am grateful to everyone who has supported me during this time. It was a very difficult year and a half, with a feeling of helplessness. Today I can say that my name is cleared and I will be able to compete again and practice my profession with the peace of mind that I deserve.”
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Following what happened, sports control bodies in Spain are facing a new challenge to improve the reliability of their processes.
Following the ruling, CELAD is awaiting possible changes to the regulations, and fans are reflecting on the need for DNA testing when there are reasonable doubts about the chain of custody of the samples.
