By Kayon Raynor
World Championship and Commonwealth Games medallist Kaliese Spencer and quarter-miler Ryker Hylton are both facing the prospect of up to a four-year ban for anti-doping rule violations.
Track and field's local governing body, the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) has confirmed that they have been advised by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) that Spencer and Hylton have been referred to the Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel for an anti-doping violation.
The pair is alleged to have violated article 2.3 of the JADCO Anti-doping Rules 2015 which speaks to "evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection."
"We have been advised by JADCO that athletes Kaliese Spencer and Riker Hylton have been referred to the Independent Anti-doping Disciplinary Panel for a hearing to be conducted in accordance with Article 8 of the JADCO Anti-doping Rules 2015," read the release from the JAAA which added that it would not be commenting further on the matter.
Efforts to get in touch with Spencer and her manager have proved futile. However, Hylton, who won mile relay bronze at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, confirmed with RJR Sports by phone on Tuesday morning that he had been notified of the violation.
Hylton indicated that emailed correspondence from the Jamaica Anti-doping Commission (JADCO) noted he had been provisionally suspended on the grounds that he declined to provide a sample for testing last summer at the Stadium East field and must now face a disciplinary hearing.
"Honestly they (JADCO) never did their job properly because they were supposed to make the person (me) know that you were selected to be drug tested and they did not let me know that," Hylton said.
At the same time, the former St. Jago and Louisiana State University athlete indicated that when he had been drug tested in the past by IAAF and NCAA officials, he had always been properly notified that he was singled out for doping control.
He added that after he left the venue last summer, his coach advised him that JADCO claimed he had declined to provide a sample.
Meanwhile, according to highly placed RJR Sports sources, the female athlete has also been notified of a similar anti-doping violation by JADCO, and is in the process of retaining a legal team to challenge JADCO's assertion.
"She plans to challenge JADCO's finding," said the source, who spoke on condition of not being named.
The updated 2015 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code provides an increase to a four-year sanction for intentional cheats.
Phone calls and emails to the executive director of JADCO, Carey Brown for a comment by on both cases by RJR Sports have gone unanswered.
The top brass of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) has denied knowledge and declined comment on both matters being managed by JADCO.
The female athlete in question has also not responded to phone calls or texted questions for a comment, while calls and text messages to her manager's phone have also gone answered.
Under the rules of the 2015 WADA Code – "Evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection" is one of 10 possible ways that athletes or their support staff can be charged with an anti-doping doping rule violation.