Evans: I took drug to save my life

FORMER South African mountain bike champion Kevin Evans has said the reports of anomalies found in his biological blood passport results were due to “life-threatening circumstances and decisions doctors made to save his life”.

The South African Institute for Drug Free Sport (SAIDS) announced yesterday that they had charged Evans with “doping after identifying serious irregularities in his Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) – a profile of the athlete’s blood parameters” between 2014 and 2015.

The now retired Evans has accepted the charges and will not be contesting them, but said doctors informed him he needed the treatment to survive and heal after he had been “diagnosed with empyema and had repeated episodes of intra-abdominal sepsis due to an appendectomy performed at the end of 2010”.

“In October 2012 he had to undergo another operation to drain and remove an abscess in his abdomen, followed by a second appendectomy and further abdominal surgery again in December,” said a statement issued by Evans.

“Evans underwent a similar procedure to drain and remove another abscess, as well as an internal drain for four weeks in February 2013. In September 2013 he had to undergo an emergency tracheotomy surgery due to an abscess bursting through his diaphragm into the lung, resulting in 10 days in Intensive Care (ICU) with a cardio thoracic surgeon.

“Between September 13-19, he received two blood transfusions in ICU in order to keep him alive. It was the opinion of three surgeons that Evans needed to receive Ozone therapy as an alternative treatment to help his immune system cope with the antibiotics and medication, and to ensure a speedy recovery, and thus save his life. Ozone therapy is not specifically mentioned in the World Anti-Doping Code, but is considered doping as it increases the body’s ability to transport more oxygen.

“As part of the biological passport program, which I’ve been a part of since 2010, I was subjected to testing a mere two weeks out of ICU, post transfusions, and hence the huge discrepancy,” said Evans.

“I followed up with Ozone treatment to help my body recover, whilst still on the ABP. I was desperate to get my health back.”

“Evans was treated in hospital for his medical condition, as recommended by his doctors to improve his health, and not for the reason of enhancing his performance as a cyclist,” continued the statement. “As Ozone therapy may unnaturally increase the body’s ability to transport more oxygen, it therefore directly affected Evans’ ABP results.”

“I underwent Ozone therapy, having applied for a TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption) but it was denied. I went ahead with the treatments to get my health back, certainly not with an intention to gain an advantage whilst competing,” said Evans. “If I had to take the decision to use the Ozone treatment to save my life again, I would do it again without hesitation.”