Court rules curler Harris not at fault for anti-doping rule violation, ban lifted

Team Canada lead Briane Harris, left, and third Val Sweeting sweep while playing Prince Edward Island at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, in Kamloops, B.C., on Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A provisional suspension issued to Canadian curler Briane Harris has been lifted “with immediate effect” by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after it found she bears “no fault or negligence” for an anti-doping rule violation last year.

Harris tested positive on Jan. 24 for trace amounts of the prohibited substance Ligandrol. She received the results from an out-of-competition doping control test on Feb. 15 and hasn’t played since.

Harris, the lead on Team Kerri Einarson, claimed she was unknowingly exposed to the banned substance through bodily contact.

Her Toronto-area lawyers, Amanda Fowler and Emir Crowne, received the CAS statement Tuesday morning.

“The circumstances of this case are unique and unfortunate,” Fowler and Crowne said via email. “We are happy that Ms. Harris prevailed and can return to the sport she loves.”

The World Curling Federation said Tuesday that no penalty will be imposed on Harris for the anti-doping rule violation, as it was determined there was no fault or negligence on her part.

The federation said the CAS decision will not be published while it is subject to appeal.

Ligandrol is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for its anabolic, muscle-building effects.

Harris' B-sample also came back positive last March. A half-day remote hearing with the Lausanne, Switzerland-based CAS was held Aug. 23.

In the 15-page CAS decision forwarded by Harris' lawyers, the curler argued she did not know nor suspect that her husband had been consuming Ligandrol, or that intimate contact represented a risk of contamination with prohibited substances.

Under the provisional suspension, Harris was banned from competition and training. The ban also prevented the Winnipeg native from interacting with her teammates and coach.

“The testimonies provided by the athlete and her husband were credible and demonstrated that the athlete was unaware of her husband’s use of Ligandrol and her exposure to the substance,” the document said.

It wasn’t immediately clear when Harris might return to action. Her team was scheduled to play Team Kayla Skrlik on Tuesday afternoon at the Grand Slam of Curling’s WFG Masters in Guelph, Ont.

“We can confirm that Briane Harris is immediately eligible to participate in all Curling Canada events,” Curling Canada wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We are pleased to welcome her back to competition and wish her the best in her future curling endeavours.”

The story -- which came at the peak of last season’s women’s domestic curling campaign -- was a stunner in a sport where negative headlines are unusual and doping cases are rare.

Einarson and teammates Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard, Krysten Karwacki and coach Reid Carruthers declined public comment on the case after the news broke last year.

Karwacki has filled in at lead while Harris has been out of the lineup. Karlee Burgess was recently named to the team for the rest of the season as an injury replacement for Birchard.

The CAS decision came a month out from the start of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay, Ont. Einarson’s team has pre-qualified for the competition.

Einarson’s team also has a berth in the Canadian Curling Trials in November. That event will determine the country’s representatives at the Milan Olympics in February 2026.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2025