Despite escaping with a public reprimand after her two-day hearing in front of the Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (IADP) in Kingston earlier this week, Briana Williams will not make her senior national debut at the 17th International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Doha, Qatar tomorrow.

The Jamaica Observer learned yesterday that Jonelle Smith, who had finished fourth in the women’s 100m finals at the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) National Championships that was used as the trials to select the team, has been named to accompany Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

The first round of the women’s 100m is set to be run at 8:30 am Jamaica time tomorrow, the second day of the championships, and last night Williams’ coach Ato Boldon said his charge — who was provisionally named by the JAAA — would not make the long trek to the Middle East.

Boldon was asked if, given Smith’s selection, his athlete will now compete in the relays.

“Nope,” he replied. “It’s okay. She’s been exonerated and that’s the main thing. She’ll be back”.

Yesterday, the IADP ruled that Williams “had established no significant fault or negligence as she was given tablets by her guardian and had no intentions to cheat in her in-competition sprint event on the 21st June, 2019”.

The panel also said it was “referred to article 10.5.1.1 of the Anti-Doping in Sport Rules and this is relied on in its findings”.

It also said, “In the circumstances of this case, the athlete is reprimanded without any period of ineligibility.” At the same time, the IADP said it was recommending that Williams undergoes another education programme on the Anti-Doping in Sport Rules as soon as the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) “carries out same”.

The statement also said, “The IADP is unanimously persuaded to the standard of proof on the evidence presented that the athlete, Miss Briana Williams, was in breach of article 2.1 of the 2015 Anti-Doping Rules as she had in her body a specified substance, namely “HCTZ”.

Williams, the reigning IAAF World Under-20 sprint double champion and national junior record holder in the 100m and 200m, had finished third in the women’s 100m final at the JAAA National Championships in late June but subsequently failed a drug test for the banned substance hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), a diuretic.

Williams, who is the second Jamaican teen to receive a public warning after a similar incident 16 years ago, in 2003, had run 10.94 seconds in the final and went on to win gold medals in the NACAC Under-18 Championships in Mexico and the Pan-American Under-20 Championships in San Juan, Costa Rica in July.

Yesterday, Boldon, told the Jamaica Observer they were “grateful” for the ruling of the IADP. “The panel did its job in considering the scientific evidence and expert testimony that it heard,” he said.

“I am relieved for Briana, who has shown amazing resilience at her age. I just spoke to her and she was crying happy tears,” Boldon said, adding that the incident “has definitely made her stronger”.

An IAAF rule might have made Williams ineligible for the 100m as her results from the Championships in June would have to be vacated and as such she would not qualify to run the individual event based on placing third, unless the JAAA named her.

Section 9 of the 2019 IAAF Anti-Doping Rules says an anti-doping rule violation in connection with an in-competition test automatically leads to disqualification of the athlete’s individual results obtained in that event, with all resulting consequences, including forfeiture of any medals, titles, awards, points, and prizes and appearance money. In addition, further results obtained by the athlete in other events may be disqualified, in accordance with Article 10.1 (same competition) and/or Article 10.8 (subsequent competitions).”

Williams had declared the use of an over-the-counter cold medication that was given to her by her mother, Sharon Simpson, while she was competing at the JAAA National Championships on June 21. After being tested at the IAAF-approved lab in Quebec, Canada the medication was found to have contained hydrochlorothiazide, which is specifically banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, according to the release.

The release also stated that Williams, who did not have a Therapeutic Use Exemption Certificate for the medication, did not dispute the substance detected in her urine sample nor did she challenge the findings of the Canadian lab.