Imagine being a five-time Olympic champion in speed skating -- Germany’s most successful Winter Olympian at the time -- preparing for your next Olympic Games. Then, suddenly, your world is turned upside down. You’re accused of doping based not on a positive test, but on irregular blood values. The International Skating Union (ISU) imposes a two-year suspension. As a result, you’re barred from competing at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Yet you haven’t doped. The irregular values are due to a rare hereditary blood disorder, inherited from your father.

This was the reality for Claudia Pechstein back in 2009. Rather than accepting the suspension, she chose to fight back -- launching one of the most significant legal battles in sports history. Sixteen years later, the case has now reached its conclusion with a settlement between Pechstein and the ISU. The case is significant for exploring how it shaped the landscape of international sports law.

Claudia Pechstein’s legal marathon began at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). Like all professional athletes competing internationally, she was required to sign an arbitration agreement obligating her to resolve all legal disputes exclusively through CAS in order to remain eligible for competition. When the ISU imposed a two-year suspension, Pechstein challenged the decision before the CAS. However, after a closed-door hearing, her appeal was dismissed. Her subsequent appeal to the Swiss........

© Sports Business Journal