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Drug Free Sport New Zealand v Blair Jacobs

Overview:

Anti-doping – swimmer tested positive for 1-3 dimethylpentylamine – also known as methylhexaneamine – admitted violation and gave evidence due to taking two supplements which he bought online – he did not investigate ingredients of products other than referring to their labels – believed were energy drinks that would help him get over being tired from his job and give him energy to train – was aware of athletes in other sports who took one of the products and assumed both products were safe to take – gave evidence and acknowledged ingredient lists for both products listed methlyhexaneamine but stated had not been aware it was prohibited – Tribunal accepted, by a narrow margin, had established not intended to enhance sports performance but focused on overcoming work tiredness – athlete not part of swimming high performance programme and not participated in any formal drug free education – however, he acknowledged was generally aware of anti-doping requirements – a competitor for a number of years at a national level, even if not in high performance squad, cannot avoid fundamental obligation to avoid taking prohibited substances – Tribunal took into account mitigating aspects that: he was upfront in his declaration at the time of testing that he had been taking one of the supplements; that work factor which motivated him into taking the supplements was extraneous to his swimming activities; and that admitted the violation and accepted wrong to rely on informal assurances rather than making proper enquiry – case more serious than BrightWater-Wharf (ST 14/10) Decision 29 November 2010) where 6 months’ suspension imposed – in that case, athlete made conscious attempts to identify product ingredients and had sought assurance from the supplier – here athlete took no meaningful steps to obtain assurance products did not contain banned substances, other than his interpretation of the product label – 12 month’s ineligibility imposed (from date of provisional suspension).

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