A representative of Jamaican sprinter Steve Mullings is expected to give an account of how the banned diuretic Furosemide got into his system when a three-member disciplinary panel of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) convenes this morning.

Last weekend Mullings told the Observer he would not be travelling to Jamaica from his Florida base, but said his management team would have someone here on his behalf.

On Friday, Mullings’ agent John Regis had notified JADCO they were requesting a hearing a day after the athlete’s B sample tested at the INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier Research Center in Quebec (an IAAF/WADA accredited facility) had confirmed the presence of the diuretic.

Furosemide, which is dispensed under the brand name ‘Lasix’, is a potent diuretic (water pill) that is used to eliminate water and salt from the body is on the IAAF’s banned list of substances as it can be used to mask the presence of anabolic steroids.

The representative is expected to submit arguments that he did not knowingly take the substance in an effort to mask the use of steroids in his body.

Mullings was notified two weeks ago (August 8) that his sample that was submitted after the 100m finals at the JAAA/Supreme Ventures Limited National Senior Trials on June 24 at the National Stadium had contained an Adverse Analytical Finding, an illegal substance.

The news broke in the Jamaican media two days later, but the 28-year-old former Vere Technical sprinter, who is based in Clermont, Florida, has consistently denied doing anything wrong.

Under IAAF/WADA’s strict liability rules, athletes are responsible for anything that goes into their system and Mullings, who was banned in 2004 for two years after testing positive for elevated testosterone levels, will have to satisfy the panel that he did not knowingly take a banned substance to gain an unfair advantage.

If he fails to do so he could be facing a life-long ban from the sport.

Mullings ran a personal best 9.80 seconds this year, the third fastest behind compatriot Asafa Powell and training partner Tyson Gay, and the fourth fastest ever by a Jamaican.

Up to the time of the notification, Mullings who was born in Braes River St Elizabeth before moving to Martha Brae, Trelawny while he was still very young, was enjoying the best season of his career.

He had earned a spot on the Jamaican team to the 13th IAAF World Championships after placing third in the 100m and winning the 200m at the Trials.

Additionally he had run the 100m under 10.00 seconds seven times this season.

Last Monday he was, however, left off the 50-member team named by the JAAA that will represent the island in Daegu, starting on Friday.

Mullings was fifth in the 200m final at the Berlin World Championships in 2009 and won a gold medal, leading off the 4x100m relay team two years after winning a silver medal in the relays in Osaka, Japan.