Joanna Evans, a double Olympian from the Bahamas, vented on social media on Monday about the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

This happened after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) granted her appeal, extending her initial two-year doping punishment to a four-year ban. Evans tested positive for the illegal chemical Clostebol, and as a result, he was banned from the sport as of February 14, 2022.

She stated that she saw it in September 2021 in Naples, Italy, while participating in an International Swimming League (ISL) competition. The Grand Bahama native was disappointed by the current verdict, as she had thought she would be able to resume competing in February.

“I have always been a fervent advocate for anti-doping initiatives. I had faith in the system when my nightmare first started, but as time went on, it grew more and more unfair, she posted on Instagram.

Since the system let me down, I’ve come to the conclusion that being honest with these regulating organizations wasn’t the best course of action. The decision, made in March 2024, to prohibit me for four years following my October 2023 CAS hearing is, in my judgment, egregiously harsh and unconscionable.”

The multiple national record holder got into a doping scandal when, in 2021, he picked up a tube of Trofodermin from a neighborhood pharmacy while visiting Naples. As previously mentioned by Evans, this was done to treat a cut that she got from what she characterized as a “jagged, rusty balcony at the hotel.” Evans claims that she did not know the cream included the illegal drug Clostebol. She used the lotion once more in Austin, Texas on October 30, 2021, following a fall that left her knee gashed.

Evans insisted that she did not knowingly use the prohibited chemical to improve her performance, but if she consented within three weeks of being informed in June 2022, the International Testing Agency (ITA) would only impose a three-year suspension as opposed to the “warranted” four-year ban. She declined the offer and instead decided to file an appeal, which she eventually lost. She expressed her dissatisfaction with the care she received during the appeals process on Instagram.

“WADA’s legal team has ruined my swimming career. They have lied, distorted the facts, and twisted my remarks to fit their own purpose. They have also intimidated and shown hostility toward my witness and created improbable scenarios in order to chase a ‘win’ rather than the truth. They destroyed my character, made it impossible for me to be seen in a realistic perspective, and treated me with contempt, vicious accusations, and dehumanization. In contemporary times when “ethics” is declared to be of utmost importance, this line of attack is simply morally incorrect,” she went on.

The Bahamas Aquatics Federation (BAF) provided Evans with support throughout the difficult time. The 26-year-old made it clear that she battled to protect Bahamas Aquatics’ reputation as well as her own integrity.

“I made every effort to demonstrate that my usage of a prohibited substance was inadvertent and unintended. I come from very humble beginnings with minimal financial resources, as anyone willing to go into my past and professional experience will see, and I have worked tirelessly to build my name both personally and competitively. I battled to protect the truth, my honor, and Bahamas Aquatics’s reputation. Evans wrote, “I was astounded by the harsh irony with which I was rewarded for my complete transparency and my innocent honesty.”

The swimmer from the Bahamas claimed that during what she called a “nightmare,” she was told to pay a portion of WADA’s costs associated with the arbitration process. Having set national records in the 200, 400, and 800m freestyle races, she is a very skilled athlete. In addition, she has competed for her nation in two Olympic Games: her debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and her participation in Tokyo in 2020.

Evans had hoped to compete in her third Olympics, but she is, to put it mildly, extremely hurt by the terrible choice. “The harm that this discriminatory treatment has caused, both directly and indirectly, cannot be undone until my sanction is reversed. Delaying the decision-making process and then raising the ban from two to four years after I had painstakingly followed all of the original ban’s requirements and trained by myself for nearly two years to be in the best possible shape to realize my dream of attending Paris 2024 is incredibly cruel and insensitive.

“I feel like the system I relied on has betrayed me. My ban was extended to four years due to WADA’s insistence. She asked, “What point is WADA proving by discrediting one honest athlete from a tiny nation while ignoring 23 positive tests from the Olympic powerhouse, China?