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U.S. Olympic cyclist Erin Mirabella, saying Tuesday she wants "to do what's fair and what's right," plans for now to return without a fight the bronze medal she was awarded after a controversial ruling at the Athens Games, if the International Olympic Committee requests she do so.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled last week that Colombian cyclist Maria Luisa Calle should be reinstated as the bronze medalist in the women's points race. The case is likely to be discussed at an IOC executive board meeting that begins today in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Days after Calle finished third and Mirabella fourth in the race, the IOC disqualified Calle for taking the prohibited stimulant heptaminol. Calle argued before CAS that the positive reading came from a substance in an anti-migraine pill that transformed into heptaminol during testing.
"We need more time to understand the basis for the CAS decision. But while I'm doing all of that, I will give the medal back to Maria," Mirabella said. She would not say whether she might appeal in the future.
"There's definitely a disappointment that things worked out the way they did," she said. "But ultimately, what's fair is the most important thing."
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