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Gert Thys Doping Case, Suspension Finally Over
Posted December 13th, 2008 at 12:02 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Drugs In Sports
The Gert Thys drug case, which has been dragging on since 2006, has finally come to an end with the announcement by Athletics South Africa (ASA) on December 11 that Thys’s suspension ended on that day after two years and 7½ months. Thys had tested positive for the prohibited substance Norandrosterone at the Seoul International Marathon on March 12, 2006, which he won in 2:10:40, and the case had been characterized by numerous postponements of a hearing and legal wranglings.
In a media release ASA announced that a tribunal chaired by Raymond Hack met on December 11 and “unanimously found that Mr. Gert Thys committed a doping violation and declared Mr Thys ineligible to participate in athletics from 25th April 2006 to the 11th December 2008 (date of tribunal). In terms of the decision Mr Gert Thys will forfeit all income, prizes and benefits derived from his participation in the Seoul Marathon on the 17th [sic] March 2006.”
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Sepeng cleared to return to competition
Posted May 16th, 2007 at 9:34 AM by Bob Ramsak
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Drugs In Sports
Hezekiel Sepeng, the South African record holder over 800 metres and silver medalist at the Atlanta Olympics and the 1999 World Championships, has been reinstated by Athletics South Africa (ASA). Sepeng had tested positive for the prohibited substance Norandrosterone in February, 2005.
In a statement released yesterday, ASA said Sepeng has been cleared and can compete with immediate effect.
Sepeng was tested out of competition on February 21, 2005, and was found guilty by an ASA tribunal. He was suspended for two years on May 11, 2005.
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Another Athlete Banned For Use of Nor-Androgesterone
Posted June 2nd, 2006 at 4:50 PM by Andrew Goodman
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Drugs In Sports
Last week, the 1996 800 meter Olympic silver medalist Hezekiel Sepeng tested positive for norandrosterone. The original test run by Athletics South Africa came out inconclusive but a follow up run by the IAAF found traces of the drug in his blood. This positive test for a SouthAfrican runner came back only weeks after South African marathon runner Themba Lamane tested positive for the same drug. Athletics South Africa claims this is the tenth South African runner to test positive for norandrosterone since February 2005. Interestingly enough, four of these ten claimed to have used supplements coming from the same pharmacy.
Unlike players in many American sports, runners know that they are going to be tested; it is just a matter of when. In the sport of running, there are all types of tests: in competition testing, out of competition testing, IOC testing, and IAAF testing, to name a few. Amid penalties ranging from disqualifications to life bans, the risks of doping in the sport of running are some of the highest risks in any sport. And with the increasing number of athletes being caught for steroid use, fans of the sport are becoming curious as to what makes a runner so prone to use them when the risk of getting caught is so high.
The answer is that most of these runners are unaware themselves that they are taking them. The IAAF has seen a surge of arbitration hearings and innocent pleas in the last 5 years like no other one before. Runners using different supplements claim that their batch must have been contaminated. The ingredients labels on most supplements are complicated, and require consumers to understand chemical relationships. For instance, many herbal ingredients listed such as Ma Huang contain by-products such as ephedrine, a banned substance.
How can these mix-ups be prevented? The answer is simple. Athletes must go through extreme measures to investigate what they put into their bodies. By being skeptical of products, athletes will do more research and find out whether the new substance their trainer has is legal by all standards. This will make for a more diverse, and untainted playing field in the running world today.
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