Triathlete Imogen Simmonds Blames Positive Doping Test on Partner's Use of Banned Substance

The Swiss athlete claims Ligandrol entered her system through intimate contact, supported by negative hair tests and timeline analysis.

Imogen Simmonds tested positive for Ligandrol, a banned substance that promotes muscle growth and bone density, during a December 2024 doping test ahead of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in New Zealand.
Simmonds asserts she never knowingly ingested Ligandrol and attributes the positive result to her partner's use of the substance to enhance his physique.
Hair sample analyses confirmed Simmonds had no traces of Ligandrol in her system, while her partner tested positive for the substance.
The athlete and her legal team argue that the substance was transmitted through body fluids during intimate contact with her partner shortly before the test.
Simmonds, who has been provisionally suspended, is working with experts to present evidence to anti-doping authorities to clear her name.