In January 2015 the International Federation of Rowing Associations (FISA) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Athlete José Alberto Arriaga Gomez after his A and B sample tested positive for the prohibited substance boldenone.
After notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement with evidence in his defence and he was heard for the FISA Doping Hearing Panel.
The Athlete denied the intentional use of the substance and claimed that the positive test was the result of contaminated meat he had consumed in December 2014. In support he produced evidence about meat contamination caused by the use of the substances boldenone, clenbuterol and other substances as veterinary product in the Mexican food industry.
The Panel accepts that meat eaten in Mexico could be contaminated by boldenone and finds that evidence shows that there are significant regulatory problems in the meat industry in Mexico and that substances such as boldenone are available for use in the meat industry. Other evidence adduced by the Athlete confirms that there is veterinary use of boldenone in Mexico, with details of a number of veterinary products containing boldenone put into evidence.
Also the expert witness of the Montreal laboratory stated that the ingestion of the substance was recent on the basis of the time since the previous negative test in November 2014, and it was exogenous. The deliberate injection of the boldenone was excluded because of the level found in the tested sample.
Considering the evidence and statements the Panel concludes that the most probable explanation of the ingestion of boldenone by the Athlete is by the eating of contaminated meat in December 2014. It also concludes that the eating of meat which is not known to be contaminated does not constitute either fault or negligence on the part of the Athlete.
Therefore the FISA Doping Hearing Panel decides on 22 June 2015 not to impose a period of ineligibility on the Athlete.
