Italy's world number one fencer and Olympic favourite Andrea Baldini will miss the Games after failing a drugs test.
Top fencer misses Olympics after failing drugs test for masking agent.
Italian world number one foil fencer Andrea Baldini will miss the Olympics after failing a drugs test.
The Olympic favourite was a huge medal prospect for the Italian team in Beijing, but the 22-year-old had tested positive for a banned substance.
22-year-old Baldini tested positive for banned diuretic furosemide whilst taking part in the European Championships in Kiev in July.
Furosemide also appears under the name Lasix and is a supposed masking agent - which is why it appears on the banned list of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
According to reports in the Italian press, Baldini will now be replaced in Italy's fencing squad by Andrea Cassara for Beijing.
Baldini was a silver medallist at last year's World Championshisps in Saint Petersburg, after being beaten in the final by Germany's Peter Joppich.
