Handball professional Nils Kretschmer is suspected of doping

Handball professional Nils Kretschmer from second division team TV Großwallstadt is suspected of doping. His lawyer Felix Rettenmaier confirmed this to the DPA news agency. The 31-year-old backcourt player was provisionally suspended with immediate effect, as the Handball Bundesliga (HBL) announced. The responsible board decided unanimously. The “Bild” newspaper and the “Main-Echo” had previously reported.

The Munich public prosecutor’s office announced that it was conducting an investigation against the accused on suspicion of the unauthorized use of a doping substance. A search of the apartment has already been carried out.

According to “Bild” information, testosterone was found to be in a low range. According to the HBL, Kretschmer was found to have “an analytical result that deviated from the norm” in the A sample during a competition control. Kretschmer has been cooperating “fully with the investigative authorities since he became aware of the allegations. In this way, he will contribute to clarifying them,” Rettenmaier explained to the DPA.

The lawyer for the traditional Bavarian club Großwallstadt made it clear that the investigation was directed exclusively against Kretschmer and not against the club, other teammates or other employees.

Most handball fans probably know the 31-year-old from his social media profiles. The backcourt player, who is often described as a handball influencer, is followed by around 420,000 people on Instagram. The Lübeck native regularly gives a look behind the scenes or posts pictures from fashion shoots.

In 2012 he signed a contract with the Rhein-Neckar Löwen and won the EHF Cup title with the Mannheim team. After stints in Großwallstadt, TV Bittenfeld and HC Elbflorenz, he ended up back at Lower Franconia this season.

It would not be the first doping case in handball in recent times. Magdeburg’s goalkeeper Nikola Portner tested positive for methamphetamines at the beginning of April. After a week-long trial, the HBL still decided to acquit him because it assumed the contamination was through no fault of his own. Portner had always denied knowingly taking it.

The National Anti-Doping Agency NADA did not agree with the acquittal by the HBL and called the Cas. Most recently, Portner submitted his own application to the Cologne Higher Regional Court to clarify whether NADA was even allowed to challenge his acquittal at the Cas.