A shocking revelation has come to light about Vladimir Nikolov, the long-standing captain of the Bulgarian national volleyball team. Bulgarian media portal sportal.bg recently reported that Nikolov tested positive for doping during the 2012 London Olympics. This information was uncovered through a document from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) based in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Although the decision was made in October 2020, it has only recently been made public on the CAS website. Surprisingly, the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) and the Volleyball Federation (BFV) were aware of the situation, but it had never been discussed publicly in Bulgaria.
Following the 2012 match where the Bulgarian team beat Great Britain, Nikolov’s sample was analyzed in a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) laboratory in London. Initially, the sample was cleared of any prohibited substances. However, a retest in 2019, as part of the Olympic Committee’s retesting initiative, revealed the presence of methyltestosterone metabolite, an anabolic steroid. Nikolov did not have medical clearance to use this substance.
In a candid admission, Nikolov said, “In short – yes, I’m guilty…the substance was in my urine.” However, he remains baffled about how the substance entered his system, suggesting that a contaminated supplement might be to blame. Nikolov also highlighted that the minute amount detected wouldn’t have enhanced his performance, questioning the logic of risking his established career for a negligible performance gain.
CAS arbitrator, Ken Lalo, emphasized that the intent or knowledge of an athlete isn’t relevant when determining a doping rule violation but is considered when deciding the consequences. As a result of the findings, Nikolov has been instructed to return his Olympic diploma and badge from the London 2012 games. The Bulgarian team’s position in the tournament remains unchanged since more than one player would need to test positive for a team disqualification.
At the 2012 Olympics, Bulgaria ranked 4th, with Nikolov participating in five out of eight matches. Post-Olympics, he retired but returned to the court for the European Championship in 2015.
The Bulgarian Olympic Committee has acknowledged that they were informed about the doping case in early 2020 but chose not to disclose it, as they weren’t directly involved in the proceedings.
