VCB cleared, but JADCo has questions to answer

By Jeremain Brown

Veronica Campbell-Brown is now free to compete, following nine months of suspension for testing positive for a prohibited substance at the Jamaica International Invitational in May 2013.

But despite the ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the highest appeal court for athletes, there are still many unanswered questions, among them is the credibility of the Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission (JADCo) and its testing procedures.

According to Campbell-Brown's attorney, Howard Jacobs, the two-year suspension by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was overturned by CAS after they appealed on two grounds: initially, that she did not take the banned substance hydrochlorothiazide and, secondly, that there were was a technical foul-up by JADCO in the collecting of her urine sample, wherein rules were not followed as her sample was left open for substantial periods of time, which seriously questioned its integrity and left it meaningless.

My questions is how many other similar foul-ups have been done by JADCo in the collection of samples from athletes who have been banned in the past, at least one of them for life.

Sprinter Steve Mullings carried his case to CAS two years ago after receiving a life ban for a second positive drug test, which was done by JADCo officials at the National Trials in 2011. He argued contamination but was unsuccessful in having his life ban overturned.

Another athlete, 400m runner Dominique Blake, received a five year ban in 2013, after testing positive at the 2012 National Trials, her second positive test. At age 28, a five year ban would mean the end of her career.

Maintaining her innocence, she has also taken her case to the Court of Arbitration but we are yet to hear the outcome.

In other high profile cases, Olympic sprinters Sherone Simpson and Asafa Powell are now fighting for their careers after positive tests at the National Trials in 2013.    

Lawyers representing both athletes have already questioned the JADCo testing procedure and even asked for the credentials of doping control officer, Dr.Paul Wright, which, standard procedure or not, was significant, as this was not asked for in other cases. No ruling has been arrived at yet in their cases.

Common factors in the cases I have listed above is that the athletes returned positive tests locally and, in all instances, questioned JADCo's testing  procedures.

JADCo’s integrity came into question last year with the World Anti-Doping Agency even visiting the island to observe and review the systems of the local commission.

One JADCo doping officer said, in a now famous BBC interview, that the number of recent positive tests in Jamaica might be the tip of the iceberg, but we hope JADCo's foul-ups are not the tip of the iceberg.