A Canadian athlete, with an eye on the World Athletics Championships next month, was preparing for a gym session when she received an email from Athletics Canada.

The Aug. 13 message stated the saliva test (cheek swab) the athlete and other females took at the recent national championships in Ottawa to be eligible for competition at worlds did not comply with World Athletics requirements.

The athlete, who CBC Sports agreed to keep confidential for fear of reprisal, had already travelled to Europe, where she planned to train for a month.

"I went to the gym an hour-and-a-half [after reading the email] because I was on the phone trying to figure out what to do to make sure I was eligible [for worlds]," she said. "Do I have to fly to a different country to get the test? It's illegal in the

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