Italy’s home crowd had its heart broken last week. With the 2026 Winter Olympics set to unfold on familiar snow, one of their hopefuls, Rebecca Passler, suddenly found herself sidelined after a failed doping test for the substance Letrozole. However, the federation recently announced she would be reinstated to the Italian biathlon team, clearing her to compete in the coming days on the Antholz-Anterselva track.

The positive test had come on January 26, right before the sprint, casting a shadow over her Olympic hopes. But after reviewing her case, the appeal committee of Italy’s anti-doping agency, National Anti-Doping Organization Italy (NADO), gave the green light for her return. Backed by the Italian Winter Sports Federation(Fisi), Passler is now officially welcomed back into the squad.

Earlier reports from Italian publication, Corriere della Sera, cited domestic contamination, linking the substance to her mother’s cancer medication (letrozole). Investigators accepted that traces may have been transferred indirectly through shared household items like a Nutella jar and a spoon.

In the end, NADO accepted her explanation, calling it a case of “involuntary ingestion or involuntary contamination,” and lifted the temporary suspension that had been in place since February 2.

“Passler will rejoin her teammates starting Monday, February 16th, when she will be available to the coaching staff for the subsequent competitions on the Olympic program,” the Italian Winter Sports Federation said in a statement. The news spread quickly, and support followed just as fast.

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“Good for her,” Massimiliano Ambesi, an Olympic analyst and commentator for Eurosport, wrote on X while sharing her story. But what exactly happened?

According to reports, Rebecca Passler had tested positive during an out-of-competition sample. The test detected two banned substances: letrozole, an anti-estrogen medication commonly used in breast cancer treatment and classified under hormonal and metabolic modulators, and methanol. Both substances are prohibited under anti-doping rules, and the case immediately raised eyebrows.

Letrozole, in particular, falls under the list of substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which still has the authority to appeal the decision to lift her suspension. So even with her reinstatement, there’s still a lingering sense of uncertainty hanging over the situation.

Once the test results came in, the Italian National Olympic Committee didn’t waste any time. The response was swift and firm. She was barred from competing at the Games, and officials announced her immediate exclusion from the team headed to the 2026 Winter Olympics, adding that they would consider a replacement if necessary.

It would have been a tough loss for the host nation. Passler sits 33rd in the overall World Cup rankings, and her best result came with an 11th-place finish in the women’s 4x6km relay at the IBU World Championships. With Norway leading the medal table with 7 gold medals and 14 in total, Italy has already collected 17 medals, and her return now gives the team hope they might add another if she delivers next week.

Still, even with the ban lifted, her story is just one chapter in a much longer history. Doping controversies have followed the Winter Games since they first began back in the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France.

Passler returns at the Winter Olympics, but many never got that break

It took nearly five decades after the Games first began (in 1924) before the first official positive test even surfaced. That moment finally came in 1972, when West German hockey player Alois Schloder was flagged for ephedrine, quietly opening the door to an issue the Olympics would keep wrestling with for years.

Just a couple of years later, more cases followed. In 1974, Soviet cross-country skier Galina Kulakova lost her bronze medal after testing positive due to a prohibited nasal spray. Around the same time, Czech hockey captain František Pospíšil also saw his bronze taken away when codeine (part of a flu medicine) showed up in his system.

Then came a chapter many fans still remember for all the wrong reasons. The 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City turned into a low point, especially for cross-country skiing. The blood-booster EPO became a major problem, and several big names were caught in the fallout. Spain’s Johann Mühlegg and Russia’s Larisa Lazutina and Olga Danilova were among those disqualified and stripped of their medals.

Even in recent years, the pattern hasn’t really slowed down. At the 2022 Winter Olympics, more positive tests made headlines. Spanish figure skater Laura Barquero tested positive for the steroid clostebol, while Russian star Kamila Valieva was flagged for the heart medication trimetazidine. Once again, the focus shifted from performances on the ice to the rules behind the scenes.

All of it shows just how the battle against doping keeps evolving with every Winter Olympic Games. As testing gets sharper and regulations grow stricter, officials continue tightening the net, determined to protect fair play.

That’s what makes Rebecca Passler’s situation feel so personal. After having her suspension lifted, she spoke with relief and gratitude.

“I have always believed in my good faith. I want to thank everyone who helped me – from ‌the lawyers who followed my case, to the Italian Winter ​Sports Federation, to my family and friends. Now I can ‌finally focus 100% on biathlon again,” she added in her FISI statement.

There was no immediate comment from the World Anti-Doping Agency, and the appeals process still leaves some uncertainty about what comes next. So, do you think she will be able to bring gold for the second time?