In May 2019 the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Nigerian Athlee Tega Odele after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Metenolone.
After notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement in his defence and he was heard for the SAIDS Anti-Doping Tribunal.
The Athlete denied the intentional use of the subsance and could not explain how it entered his system. He had only used supplements provided by his coach to him and other athletes. He assumed that the positive test was the result of both a clinical and herbal treatment he had received in Nigeria.
The Athlete did not accept the test result and alleged that his sample was contaminated during the chain of custody. He acknowledged that he had not checked the supplements provided by his coach before using.
The Panel finds that the presence of a prohibited substance has been established in the Athlete's sample and accordingly that he committed an anti-doping rule violation. The Athlete failed to demonstrate with any evidence that the violation was not intentional, nor how the prohibited substance had entered his system.
The Panel concludes that as an experienced International and Olympic Athlete, he did not show that he acted with a duty of care or exercised the utmost caution to ensure that he did ingest any substances that are on the prohibited list.
Therefore the SAIDS Anti-Doping Tribunal decides on 22 July 2019 to impose a 4 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 20 May 2019.