Brazilian swimmer wants to clear name and win Olympic medal

BRASILIA, May 13 (Xinhua) -- The Arbitrary Court of Sports based in Switzerland has absolved the case against Brazilian Rebeca Gusmao.

The swimmer still faces one other court battle to clear her name from charges of doping, but she is certain that she will able to travel to Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games.

The local press reported on Tuesday that the Brazilian swimmer claims that she "is going to Beijing and will bring back a medal."

Last week, the Arbitrary Court of Sports ruled that they were unable to judge the case of doping that occurred in 2006 due to the fact that the episode happened in Brazil, which is outside of the court's jurisdiction.

The other charges of doping are related to the 2007 Pan-American Games held in Rio de Janeiro, where she is accused oftaking testosterone. The decision on that case is due to be released sometime next week.

The swimmer has been serving a suspension from the sport since November 5, 2007, right after the International Federation of Swimming (FINA) announced a positive result of doping by the athlete.

Due to the FINA's ban, the swimmer's times and qualifications for the Beijing Olympics were marked as invalid.

If she were to be found innocent, her times will be reinstated automatically. She claims that she has already qualified to participate in the 50 meters and 100 meters freestyle as well as the relay. However, she said that if she were indeed to go to Beijing, she would only compete in the 50 meters freestyle.

According to Gusmao, people judge too often based on appearance.

"My biotype calls a lot of attention in Brazil," she said. "The body that I have today was not built from one year to the next. I have lifted weights for 12 years. My progress has been gradual. When someone says that I gained a lot of muscle mass and bettered my times overnight, it is absurd and not true."