American skeleton slider Zach Lund has been cleared to compete in next month’s Winter Olympics in Turin, despite failing a drugs test.
The US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) issued Lund with a public warning but said he could go to the Games.
Lund tested positive for Finasteride - a banned substance often used as a steroid-masking agent - at a competition in November.
Lund said that he taken the drug by mistake in a hair restoration product.
The 27-year-old was ordered to forfeit the points from his second place finish in the season’s opening World Cup race in Calgary after the results of his drugs test became known.
A favourite for gold at the Olympics, he said he was pleased at the way Usada had handled his case.
“I’m glad Usada saw it for what it was, a mistake and nothing else,” he said.
“I had a very strong case. I had all the evidence that I needed to prove that it was a harmless, honest mistake.
“I could show that I’m not on performance-enhancing drugs and they handled it in the right way.”