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JADCO Disciplinary Panel issued correct decision
By Christopher Galakoutis
| Wednesday, August 12 2009 11:51:54 AM |
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The sport of Athletics, just a few days before it showcases the world’s greatest athletes, is once again scrambling to deal with a case involving doping controversy.
Only this time, based on our reading of the facts, it appears that the panel set up to investigate the positive tests returned by five Jamaican athletes reached a correct decision in clearing them of any foul play.
But Jamaica's Anti-Doping Commission (Jadco) is appealing the decision reached by its own disciplinary panel, which cleared Yohan Blake, Allodin Fothergill, Lansford Spence, Marvin Anderson and Sheri-Ann Brooks of any wrong doing from positive tests returned at Jamaica’s national championships in June.
The substance in question, Methylhexaneamine (not the unrelated Methylxanthine, which has been widely misreported) is a substance that HellenicAthletes.com understands is not specifically listed on the World Anti Doping Agency’s (WADA) 2009 list of banned substances. It is understood to be on the 2010 list, however. The basis of JADCO’s appeal is that Methylhexaneamine contains a similar structure to a stimulant that is on the 2009 WADA banned list.
But legally the appeal may be futile. If a substance is not on a prohibited list, then under a literal reading of the rules, it is not prohibited, despite the fact that its chemical components are similar to another banned substance.
Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Patrick Arnold, the Illinois chemist at the heart of the BALCO case, has marketed a dietary supplement containing Methylhexaneamine, an amphetamine-like substance. In a May 2006 article, Amy Shipley of the Washington Post talked with the famed Don Catlin about the Arnold product, originally sold using the trademark name Geranamine. Catlin, a steroid researcher who has worked with WADA and was involved in the BALCO case, found that the active ingredient, Methylhexaneamine, was not listed on the label and that it was similar to amphetamines and ephedrine.
In emailed comments, Arnold told HellenicAthletes.com today:
“Methylhexaneamine is a stimulant that is used in nutritional supplements in the US. It is not a masking agent nor is it anything clandestine.
“The product we introduced with Methylhexaneamine was originally labeled using only the trademark name Geranamine for a brief time because we did not want competitors figuring out exactly what it was and copying it. But after realizing that was legally questionable we started putting the chemical name on the bottle (in 2006).”
It is understood based on internet chatter the Jamaican athletes may have ingested a different nutritional supplement product to Arnold's, one without a clear label for the ingredient Methylhexaneamine.
Arnold added: “It’s not a clear cut issue, and as the doping police get more and more comprehensive with testing, such situations are bound to become more commonplace.
“I believe that things are sometimes just too confusing for the athletes and just too ambiguous. They can make innocent mistakes. At the same time the ambiguity allows real cheaters to hide behind believable excuses. It’s a mess.”
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Chris Galakoutis is a business and sports writer, as well as the founder and managing editor of HellenicAthletes.com. He can be reached at Chris@hellenicathletes.com
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