In January 2013 the International Rugby Board (IRB) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the New Zealand rugby player Lavinia Gould after her A and B samples tested positive for the prohibited substance Methylhexaneamine (dimethylpentylamine). After notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement in her defence and she was heard for the IRB Judicial Committee.
The Athlete did not challenge the test results, admitted the violation and denied the intentional use of the substance. She stated that she had used supplements of which she was informed they were “safe”. Laboratory analysis of her supplements showed that the product Genetix beta-alanine powder she had consumed was contaminated, but not the newly and unopenend Genetix product.
The Athlete’s sister Harmony Gould, a fitness trainer, stated that she used a number of supplements. At the time she was using the supplement Jack 3D, which was known to contain methylhexaneamine. She had bought Jack 3D in bulk (10 tubs) in July/August when she heard it was no longer going to be available and she used the last of these tubs in March 2013. She resided with the Athlete and mixed ‘shakes’ using her (the Athlete’s) supplements together with her own. She mixed drinks with her own spoon comprising her Jack 3D and the Athlete’s beta-alanine “a minimum of a dozen times dating back to August 2012 through to March 2013”.
However in June 2013 the IRB filed a report of the WADA accredited laboratory in Switzerland stating that the concentration of the prohibited substance found in the Athlete’s A and B samples were not consistent with the hypothesis upon which the Athlete was contaminated with the substance originating from the incriminated Genetix beta-alanine container.
Hereafter the Athlete acknowledged that she failed in her attempt to explain how the Methylhexaneamine entered her system in order to obtain a reduced sanction. The Judicial Committee also considered whether there are proven aggravating circumstances in this case due to the Athlete provided fraudulent information to the Committee. After deliberations it rules that there are no aggravating circumstances to the comfortable satisfaction of the Committee.
Therefore the IRB Judicial Committee decides on 27 October 2013 to impose a 2 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 11 January 2013.
