Jamaican duo charged with breaching anti-doping rules

KINGSTON: Commonwealth Games 400 metres hurdles champion Kaliese Spencer and world championship relay medallist Riker Hylton have been charged with breaching antidoping rules, Jamaican athletics officials confirmed on Tuesday.

“We have been advised by JADCO (Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission) 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,” the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) said in a statement.

“Both athletes are alleged to have violated article 2.3 of the said rules which speaks to ‘Evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection’.”

Under World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules, “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.

The maximum penalty is a fouryear suspension.

Kaliese won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 and was also a world championship silver medallist in the 4x400m in Berlin in 2009.

She did not respond to phone calls or text requests for comment.

Hylton, who won a 4x400m bronze at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, said on Tuesday that he had been notified of his provisional suspension by JADCO.

He said the anti-doping body claimed he had declined to provide a sample for testing last year at the Stadium East field.

Hylton, however, said that he had not been properly informed that he had been selected for testing and only found out that he had been accused of declining to provide a sample after he had left the stadium. Reuters