KUALA LUMPUR: A 17-year-old male sprinter who tested positive for doping at the 2019 Malaysian Closed Athletics Championship, has been suspended from participating in any athletics-related activities for four years.
Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) president, Datuk S.M. Muthu said the decision was made after an investigation conducted on the athlete and in accordance with the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).
He said the student from Johor was found to be using banned substances through a supplement obtained through a friend from Penang.
“We at MAF view this doping issue seriously and always abide by Wada’s regulations. The athlete is given 30 days to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) through MAF.
“The student was unaware that the supplement he had been taking for two years has prohibited substances, but we handed down the punishment as the substances were detected in his body,” he said at a press conference at Wisma OCM, here, today.
The Penang-born student, who took part in the 4x100m in the championship in August last year, was tested positive for methasterone and oxymetholone - anabolic androgenic steroids - in a doping test conducted by the Malaysian Anti-Doping Agency (Adamas) during the championship.
Both steroids are banned by Wada.
According to Muthu, the MAF also investigated the student’s coach, Mohd Poah Md Kassim, and found him not guilty.
“We investigated him because the athlete was under the coach’s supervision and training. We did not have strong evidence to blame him,” he said.
Meanwhile, MAF Anti-Doping Committee chairman, Datuk R. Annamalai said a seminar would be organised to provide awareness of banned substances and the usage of supplements to about 150 athletics and coaches in the near future in an effort to curb doping. — Bernama
