Related case:
TJD-AD 2023-017 Appeal Decision - Athletics
October 18, 2023
In October 2022 the Brazilian Doping Control Authority (ABCD) reported and an anti-doping rule violation against the Athlete for his 3 Whereabouts Failures within a 12 month period:
- a Filing Failure on 31 March 2021;
- a Missed Test on 8 November 2021;
- a Missed Test on 5 March 2022
Following notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement in his defence and was heard for the Brazilian Sports Justice Anti-Doping Tribunal (TJD-AD).
The Athlete denied that he acted intentionally and argued that prior he had been tested multiple times without issues. He asserted that ABCD had to support athlete's when having problems updating their Whereabouts.
Regarding the first Whereabouts Failure he explained that in the United States he had technical problems in updating his Whereabouts. He showed his e-mails with ABCD about these problems and could only update his Whereabouts when he returned to Brazil.
Additionally his trip to the United States was complicated by the Covid pandemic. Moreover their trip was uncertain because they still had not received their tickets.
The Athlete acknowledged that his second Whereabouts Failure happened because he had already lef home at the end of the one-hour-timeslot while anticipating that no Doping Control Officer would come.
In the matter of the third Whereabouts Failure the Athlete confirmed with evidence that he was at home while his phone was off. Furthermore his intercom was faulty and the doorbell was not heard because of the noise outside the building and the noise of his air conditioning inside his house.
Regarding the first Whereabouts Failure ABCD contended that the Athlete had plenty opportunity to update his Whereabouts information before his trip to the United States. ABCD also rejected his justifications for his second and third Whereabouts Failures.
Regarding the first Whereabouts Failure the Rapporteur determines that the Athlete indeed had not timely updated his Whereabouts within the set deadline. Also for participation in the United States the schedules for the competitions were already publicly available.
The Rapporteur corrects that the deadline to file Whereabouts was 31 March 2021 and not 20 March 2021. ABCD contended that they could solve these update problems within 48 hours, whereas the Athlete did not solve any of these technical problems during his 40 day stay in the United States.
Further the Rapporteur concludes that the Athlete acted negligently regarding his second and third Whereabouts Failures. Nevertheless he accepts that his violation was not intentional and that there are grounds for a reduced sanction.
Therefore the TJD-AD Panel decides on 3 May 2023 to impose a 16 month period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 6 October 2022.
