Suspenden por dopaje a la mexicana Mariana Bernal y le quitarán un campeonato del mundo
La arquera dio positivo por nandrolona y fue sancionada hasta 2028, aunque conservará el oro por equipos obtenido en el Mundial
Mexican goalkeeper Mariana Bernal received a three-year ban from the International Testing Agency (ITA) after testing positive for nandrolone in an out-of-competition anti-doping test on September 29, 2025.
The suspension will be in effect from December 22, 2025 to December 21, 2028, according to the statement issued by the body responsible for World Archery anti-doping controls.
Why was Mariana Bernal suspended?
The ITA reported that the Mexican athlete tested positive for nandrolone, an anabolic steroid included on the list of prohibited substances by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The sanction implies that all individual results obtained by Mariana Bernal between September 29, 2025, the date the sample was taken, and December 22, 2025, when her provisional suspension began, are annulled.
Will he lose the World Cup gold medal?
No. The 23-year-old archer will retain the team gold medal she won with Maya Becerra and Adriana Castillo at the World Archery Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea, between September 5 and 12, 2025.
This result is not affected because it was obtained before the date on which the anti-doping control was carried out.
The title that Mariana Bernal will lose
The sanction does annul the championship won in the World Cup Final held in Nanjing, China, from October 17 to 19, 2025.
In that competition, Mariana Bernal was proclaimed champion in the compound bow, beating Maya Becerra.
That victory represented the first individual title for a Mexican archer in a World Cup Final since the creation of the circuit in 2006, an achievement that will now be void after the anti-doping resolution.
What is Nandrolone?
Nandrolone is an anabolic steroid banned by the WADA, as it can increase muscle mass, strength and accelerate physical recovery.
Its use is prohibited both in competition and out of competition, so a positive result constitutes a violation of anti-doping rules.
The sanction was reduced by one year
According to the ITA, Mariana Bernal accepted the violation of the anti-doping rules from the beginning, a situation that allowed the suspension period contemplated in the World Archery regulations to be reduced by one year.
As a consequence, the archer will remain disqualified until December 2028, a period during which she will not be able to participate in official competitions endorsed by international organizations.