TWO Qatari show jumping athletes and one Egyptian have been banned for two years after testing positive for the prohibited substance Carboxy-THC in 2019.
Qatar’s Sheikh Ali Al Thani and Bassem Mohammed and Egypt’s Mohamed Talaat will be ineligible to compete until June 16th, 2023. Each athlete was also fined CHF 7,500 and Mr Mohammed and Mr Talaat were each asked to pay costs of CHF 2,000.
Carboxy-THC, a metabolite of Cannabis, is a prohibited substance under the FEI’s Anti-Doping Rules for Human Athletes (ADRHA).
Urine samples taken from the Sheikh Ali Al Thani and Bassem Mohammed at the CSIO4*-W Designated Olympic Qualifier for Group F - Rabat (MAR), from October 10th-13th, 2019, tested positive. Similarly, a urine sample taken from Mohamed Talaat at the African Games-S - Rabat (MAR) from August 20th-24th, 2019, also tested positive for Carboxy-THC.
Shisha bar defence
All three athletes denied that they knowingly smoked, inhaled or otherwise used cannabis during the event. To all three, the only plausible explanation for the adverse analytical finding of Carboxy-THC and the values detected, was due to an inadvertent exposure to cannabis during their visits to their hotel’s shisha bar in Rabat.
To the FEI Tribunal, the athletes had failed to establish the source of the Carboxy-THC, and hence applied the standard sanction for specified substances.
Specified substances are simply substances which are more likely to have been consumed by an athlete for a purpose other than the enhancement of sport performance. They can be handled with a greater degree of flexibility within the structure of the FEI Regulations.
In its three final decisions, the FEI Tribunal imposed a two-year ineligibility period on each athlete, effective from June 17th, 2021, meaning, each athlete will be ineligible until June 16th, 2023.
The results of all athletes as of June 17th, 2021 are disqualified. For Talaat, this includes his results obtained at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, resulting in the disqualification of team Egypt from the jumping team competition.
The parties can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days of receipt of the decision.