November 17, 2003 – “I have never taken EPO or any other substance prohibited in sports. Never.” That was Genevieve Jeanson's clear and unequivocal statement today during a meeting with members of the media held in response to the Dr. Maurice Duquette affair. Duquette is the Montreal orthopedic surgeon who recently pleaded guilty to a number of charges brought against him by the College des médecins du Quebec (Quebec College of Physicians).
Even though there was a ban on publishing the identity of patients named in the action by the College des medecins, Jeanson openly volunteered that she was indeed the elite cyclist mentioned in the charges brought against Dr. Duquette, while insisting that she did not renounce the confidentiality of her medical files. Ms. Jeanson has found it completely unacceptable that she was not allowed to explain her situation before the College des medecins and has expressed her wish to meet with sports governing bodies so that she may state the facts in front of an appropriate forum.
Dr. Duquette pleaded guilty to a variety of charges brought against him by the College des medecins du Québec, most of them dealing with the surgical use of EPO not in conformance with accepted practices in Quebec, in connection with major orthopedic surgical procedures on patients unrelated with sports. The controversial charge implicating Genevieve Jeanson reads as follows: having “neglected to write into the medical file of Ms. Genevieve Jeanson (S) medications that were administered to her, notably Marcaine and Eprex that had been re-administered as a diagnostic test, in contravention of the Règlement sur la tenue des dossiers d'un médecin (regulation on keeping medical files).”
Dr. Duquette's guilty plea was recorded in his absence by his lawyer on November 10, 2003. The day after the plea, Dr. Duquette sent a letter to Jeanson's lawyer where he affirmed that he had, “never prescribed or given Eprex to Genevieve Jeanson, I pleaded guilty for injecting Marcaine along one tendon during one exercise routine and then omitting to write this in her file at the office.” (Marcaine is a local anesthetic.)
Jeanson has vigorously denied ever receiving or using EPO, even once, either from Dr. Duquette or any other source.
Jeanson's lawyer Alain Barrette explained that his client had tried in vain for nearly a year to tell her version of the facts to the Comite de discipline du College des medecins (Disciplinary Committee of the Quebec College of Physicians). But her Motion for Intervention was rejected by the Committee.
Since Dr. Duquette's recent guilty plea has deprived Jeanson of any chance of stating her position before the tribunal of the Collège des médecins, she has expressed her wish to appear before sports governing bodies, especially the Canadian Cycling Association, to clear up the situation. This is also the reason behind her decision to officially reveal her identity in the case today. “It's been months since I've wanted to talk about this,” she said. “Because I was not able to with the Collège des médecins, I want to have the chance with the sports governing bodies.”