In September 2022 the South African Institute for Drugfree Sport (SAIDS) reported an anti-doping rule violation against the minor judoka after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substances Prednisolone and Prednisone.
Following notification a provisional suspension was ordered. Meanwhile the Athlete continued to participate into multiple rowing competitions between October 2022 and March 2023. The Athlete filed a statement in his defence and he was heard for the SAIDS Independent Doping Hearing Panel.
The minor Athlete admitted the violation and accepted the test result. He explained that he had used Prednisone tablets as treatment for his condition provided by his mother. He requested the Panel not to disqualify his results obtained in the rowing competitions.
SAIDS finds that the violation was not intentional and seeked for the imposition of a sanction of 6 months on the minor Athlete. Further SAIDS wanted disqualification of all the Athlete's competititve results obtained since the sample collection.
The Panel agrees that the Athlete's violation was not intentional, yet deems that the minor Athlete had acted with some degree of negligence regarding the medication he had used. The Panel determines that there are no grounds for fairness regarding the disqualification of his competitive results.
The Panel establishes that the Athlete and his mother knew, or at the very least ought to have known, that there was a risk of disqualification of his results obtained at the rowing competitions. Yet, he continued regardless and did not, at all, consider that would be fair in the circumstances.
Therefore the Panel decides on 14 June 2023 to impose a 12 month period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the decision. Finally the Panel decides to disqualify all the Athlete's results obtained at the judo and rowing competitions from 26 june 2022 to the date of this decision.
