UPDATE: FITRI has issued a news release confirming that Luca Facchinetti has been suspended from all Italian Triathlon Federation activities with immediate effect, pending the outcome of proceedings before the TNA.
Italy’s National Anti-Doping Tribunal (TNA) has issued a provisional suspension for Luca Facchinetti, a former pro triathlete involved with the Italian Triathlon Federation’s (FITRI) junior programme, following a request from the National Anti-Doping Prosecutor’s Office. The notice, published on Thursday 25 June on the NADO Italia website, cites potential violations of Articles 2.1 and 2.2 of Italy’s Anti-Doping Sports Code—covering the presence of a prohibited substance in an athlete’s sample and its use or attempted use. The control was ordered and conducted by NADO Italia.
Facchinetti, 37, from Cervia, competed at the highest level of triathlon for more than a decade, including winning Ironman Turkey 70.3 and collecting three Italian national titles before narrowly missing selection for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Since retiring, he has built an equally prominent coaching career, holding certified licences with FCI (cycling), FITRI and FIDAL (athletics), while working as both a personal endurance coach and a federal technical instructor within the Italian triathlon system.
Just last weekend, from 18-21 June, Facchinetti was scheduled to coach at the Summer FITRI Age Group Camp in Predazzo, Italy.
The provisional suspension bars Facchinetti from all sporting and coaching activity while the proceedings continue. No prohibited substance has been publicly identified and no final sanction has been issued. Under the WADA Code, violations of Articles 2.1 and 2.2 typically carry bans of between two and four years, depending on the substance involved and the degree of fault.
The case is the second in three months to place Italian endurance sport coaching under the anti-doping spotlight. In April, Gran Fondo Daily News reported the TNA’s provisional suspension of former Giro d’Italia stage winner Danilo Napolitano and club president Marco Moretto of junior development cycling club SALUS Ciclistica Seregno ASD on charges including the alleged administration of prohibited substances to athletes—a case with potentially career-ending consequences given the junior status of those involved.
Facchinetti’s case differs in the alleged anti-doping violations, but the pattern underlines growing scrutiny of the coaches and officials who shape the next generation of Italian endurance athletes.
Gran Fondo Daily News reached out to FITRI officials for comment but have yet to receive a response.
As with all provisional suspensions, Facchinetti is presumed innocent unless and until a formal hearing is held and a verdict is rendered by the TNA.
Photo Credit: Ironman
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