Related case:
ISR 2021 KNWU Decision Appeal Committee 2019010 B
June 21, 2021
In September 2019 the Royal Dutch Cycling Federation (KNWU) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Person after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Salbutamol in a concentration above the WADA threshold (1900 ng/ml).
After notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Person filed a statement in his defence and he was heard for the ISR KNWU Disciplinary Committee.
The Person denied the intentional use of the substance, explained that he suffered from Asthma and Bronchitus and that he used regularly the medication Ventolin (Salbutamol) as treatment. He was surprised about the high concentration in his sample and testified that he had used 400 ng/ml before the competition and again 400 ng/ml immediately after the competition, prior to the sample collection. He was aware that the threshold of therapeutic use per 24 hours for Ventolin is 1600 ng/ml and 800 ng/ml per 12 hours.
Supported by an expert witness the Person asserted that the tropical weather conditions (31 °C) at the relevant time and dehydration had resulted in an accumulation in his system of the substance due to he had used in the week before the competition the maximum daily dose of 1600 ng/ml Ventolin. Further the Athlete claimed that there were similarities between his case and the Chris Froom case and that its outcome should lead to his acquittal or alternatively in a reduced sanction of less than 2 years.
The Doping Authority Netherlands (Dopingautoriteit) initially accepted that the violation was not intentional after the Person’s first statement. Yet hereafter the Person’s expert witness reported that the Person had used 800 ng/ml before the competition and 800 ng/ml immediately after the competition (=1600 ng/ml). The Dopingautoriteit requested for an explanation and the Person and its expert witness filed an altered report stating that on the day of the competition the Person had used 400 ng/ml at 07:45 hours, 400 ng/ml at 12:00 hours and again 400 ng/ml at 18:00 hours (=1200 ng/ml).
The Dopingautoriteit considered this new explanation from the Athlete and its expert witness and concluded that the Person through his use of 1200 ng/ml Ventolin within 10 hours had crossed the threshold of 800 ng/ml per 12 hours. In addition the Person previously had confirmed that he was aware of the threshold limits for therapeutic use of his medication. Accordingly the Dopingautoriteit deemed that the violation was intentional and that there are no grounds for a reduced sanction.
The Disciplinary Committee established that in the WADA Technical Document TD2019DL that the relevant threshold limits for Salbutamol were raised from 1200 ng/ml to1400 ng/ml. Nevertheless it establishes that in the Person’s sample a concentration of 1900 ng/ml Salbutamol was found, above the WADA threshold, with only signs of a light degree of dehydration. The Committee rejected the scientific foundations in the altered expert report and finds and that there are insufficient grounds to consider the Chris Froom case in these proceedings.
Furthermore the Committee holds that the Person had confirmed that he had used 1200 ng/ml within 10 hours. He also refrained from a controlled pharmacokinetic study in order to demonstrate that the found concentration in his sample was the result of his therapeutic use of Salbutamol, the tropical weather conditions and dehydration. Consequently the Committee concludes that the Person has committed an anti-doping rule violation without grounds for a reduced sanction.
Therefore the ISR KNWU Disciplinary Committee decides on 11 January 2021 to impose a 4 year period of ineligibility starting on the date of the decision.
Fees and expenses for this committee shall be borne by the Person.