JAAA clears air — Wilkins officially banned

Tribunal reconvenes in Fraser case

BY DANIA BOGLE Observer staff reporter

Thursday, September 09, 2010

THE Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) says contrary to reports in the local media, it is not withholding information on the Shelly Ann Fraser drugs case and no decision has been made on a possible sanction.

In a release yesterday, the JAAA said the three-member tribunal that had initially heard the case had reconvened on Tuesday. JAAA doping panel member Warren Blake told the Observer he was optimistic a decision will be made soon.

According to the release, "The Tribunal was of the view that there were circumstances in the athlete's case which may be exceptional and special and therefore referred the case to the IAAF's Doping Review Board... in accordance with the IAAF rule 38.19."

It added, "The Doping Review Board has now replied that they have agreed with the Tribunal that special circumstances are met for a reduction of sanction in the athlete's case from two years."

Blake said the JAAA decided to issue the release to dispel rumours and media reports that a decision had been made into the matter and it was withholding information from the public.

"We want to make it clear that the JAAA is not holding back information," he told the Observer. "(The reports) are making it seem that we're being tardy and that we're not sure what we're doing."

This is the latest in the three-month-long saga which came to public attention on June 8 when it was revealed that the Olympic and world champion had tested positive for the prohibited substance "Oxycodone" at a meet in China on May 23. Oxycodone is defined as a painkiller for treating moderate to severe pain.

Fraser subsequently withdrew from a IAAF Diamond League Meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Bruce James, the president of Fraser's club, MVP, said she took the substance given to her by coach Stephen Francis, for pain relief after undergoing a dental procedure in Jamaica prior to travelling to China.

However, she failed to declare it, which IAAF rules stipulate.

The tribunal of former Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe, former Attorney General Winston Spaulding and psychiatrist Dr Aggrey Irons first met in June following which its findings were submitted to the sports world governing body.

Meanwhile, in a separate release, the JAAA announced that quarter-miler Bobby Gaye Wilkins had been banned for two years, effective April 9, 2010 after being found guilty of a doping violation by a panel which included Dr Marion Bullock-Ducasse, Dr Guyan Arscott, Dr Carl Bruce and Mrs Alvera Knight.

Wilkins returned an adverse analytical finding at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar in March and was provisionally suspended pending a hearing.

The US-based athlete can appeal the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

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