Related case:
TJD-AD 2022-008 Appeal Decision - Rowing
In January 2022 the Brazilian Doping Control Authority (ABCD) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the rower after his sample tested poisitive for the prohibited substance Oxandrolone.
Following notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement in his defence and he was heard for the Brazilian Sports Justice Anti-Doping Tribunal (TJD-AD).
The Athlete denied the intentional use of the substance because he was tested before without issues and had prompt cooperated with the latest sample collection. He stated that he had used supplements prescribed by a recommended medical specialist and compounded in a recommended pharmacy of Naturativa Farmácia.
The Athlete believed that these compounded supplements from Naturativa Farmácia were the source of the prohibited substance. Analysis of 5 supplements in the Rio Lab, delivered in open unsealed bottles, revealed the presence of multiple prohibited substances: Clomifene, Oxandrolone, Hydrochlorothiazide, Furosemide and Spironolactone.
Naturativa Farmácia confirmed that supplements for the Athlete had been compounded in their pharmacy. Yet it denied that at the material time Oxandrolone and the other substances had been compounded that could have contaminated the his supplements. It alleged that these supplements in question were compounded by a third party.
Thereupon the Athlete did not accept a proposed sanction of 4 years because the Rio Lab had established that his supplements were contaminated. Further the Athlete alleged that Naturativa Farmácia had omitted relevant information from its prescription records and lacked cooperation.
The Athlete challenged the assertion that he had provided tampered third party contamined supplements to the Rio Lab. He argued that it would be impossible for him to produce in detail and in a short time such supplements without signs of tampering and containing several prohibited substances.
Following deliberations Naturativa Farmácia complied and produced all relevant prescription records. These records showed that indeed Oxandrolone and the other prohibited substances had been compounded in this pharmacy at the material time the Athlete's supplements were compounded.
The Rapporteur 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.
Following assessment of the evidence the Rapporteur accepts that the violation was not intentional and that there are mittigating circumstances for No Significant Fault or Negligence.
The Rapporteur deems that the Athlete had demonstrated with corroborating evidence that the compounding supplements from Naturativa Farmácia were contaminated.
Further the Rapporeur considers that the Athlete was tested before and that the found concentration of Oxandrolone in his sample was consistent with the concentration of contaminants found his supplements by the Rio Lab.
Therefore the TJD-AD Panel decides on 29 July 2022 by majority to impose a 6 month period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the sample collection, i.e. on 13 January 2022.
