NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 15 – The Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) decided to slap the 2017 World Youth 800m champion Jackline Wambui with a two-year ban for doping despite arguing that she was ignorant of the medication prescribed to her.
The tribunal, chaired by Njeri Onyango, argued that ignorance was no defence for Wambui to seek leniency after she tested positive for the banned substance norandrosterone.
“The panel is not persuaded by the athlete’s pleadings that her lack of doping education mitigates her significant negligent handling of circumstance that led to her occasioning the anti-doping rule violation,” the panel’s report reads.
Furthermore, the report argues that the athlete did not get a therapeutic use exemption (TUE), which would have allowed her to use the medication for strictly treatment purposes despite it containing a banned substance.
“The tribunal already flagged out one major omission by the athlete, which was her failure to shield herself from this ADRV by seeking a TUE if it was absolutely necessary for her to use a prohibited substance. Her painful limb(s) had pained her from her last race which she testified was around January 2021 and she finally sought medical attention around August 2021 which in our opinion was sufficient period to process her TUE,” the tribunal argued.
At doctor’s mercy
In her submission, the 2019 Africa Under 20 800m champion had argued that she informed her doctor that she was an athlete and as such, expected him to take caution not to prescribe a prohibited substance.
“Queried at cross examination whether she had read about the drugs prescribed to
her the Athlete testified that she relied on the doctor. She also testified
that education- wise she attended up to secondary school attaining a mean
E grade in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education,” the report reveals.
It adds: “It was the athlete’s submission that there was no reason for her, a secondary school graduate, to interrogate the prescription by the doctor having notified him she was an athlete. She argued further that had she interrogated the doctor she would have been handicapped and out of her depth considering her level of education and attainment in KCSE.”
The athlete further argued that she has not received adequate education on anti-doping rules from ADAK although she confirmed having been regularly tested since 2017.
“Accordingly, the athlete stated that she was then and is still disadvantaged by the fact that to date she has never received education by ADAK or any organization on anti-doping. She testified that other than being tested from 2017/18/19/20 and
2021, she was in high school where they were given water bottles by ADAK. During cross examination she said she was not aware that ADAK website existed,” the report says.
Despite her pleadings, Wambui will be out of competition for a further two years, having served a provisional suspension of two years since December 2021.
