Bergqvist became both relieved and glad when she learned that her rival, Veneva, was caught for doping with testosterone.

"I have suspected her for almost 10 years time," Bergvist stated to Swedish news agency TT.

"As [the way] she has set up her seasons and suddenly appeared at championships, I have understood that there was something shady. That she has finally gotten caught is an unbelievable relief, but one had hoped that it could have occurred earlier," says Kajsa Bergqvist.

Veneva's having jumped very good heights early in the summer in non-major meets close to her home in either Bulgaria or Greece followed by not competing at all during the month or so leading up to the major championships led to part of the suspicion Bergqvist and other athletes had concerning Veneva.

Veneva was also regularly and conspicuously absent from the major Grand Prix and Golden League meets during the main part of the season where all the other top jumpers competed against each other. 

The Golden League is a series of competitions the IAAF formed for the 1998 season to raise the profile of the leading athletics competitions in Europe. Athletes who compete in selected events - and win their event at all of the Golden League meetings - are qualified for a share of the $1 million jackpot offered.

The lucrative European Grand Prix circuit is where many athletes earn their living during their athletics careers, and one in which Veneva had earlier participated before shelving the international competitions for local ones with little or no competition... or drug testing. 

The 24-year-old Stambolova was European champion in 2006, running 49,85 to defeat Russians Tatyana Veshkurova and Olga Zaytseva for the gold. 

Stambolova holds four Bulgarian national records, and has a lifetime best in the 400m of 49,56 seconds - a mark she set in Rieti, Italy 17 days after her European title. 

Stambolova's entire 2006 season will come into question as she set three of her national records (400m indoors, 400m outdoors and 400m hurdles) just months before her positive drugs test.  She recorded a total of eight national all-time bests at the 400m distance in 2006, taking her personal best down from 52.99 to 49.53 — unheard of in the 400m.

Veneva is the 11th-best female performer outdoors in the high jump at 2.04m.  She has jumped a lifetime best of 2.02m indoors - the 13th-best performer.  Country mate Stefka Kostadinova holds the world outdoor record of 2.09m set at the 1987 IAAF World Championships in Rome.

The CAS was created in 1984 and is placed under the administrative and financial authority of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS). The CAS has nearly 300 arbitrators from 87 countries, chosen for their specialist knowledge of arbitration and sports law. Around 200 cases are registered by the CAS every year.