(Jamaica Observer) Noted sports law professor Dr Emir Crowne, counsel for the outstanding Jamaican sprinter Briana Williams, who has returned a positive test for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), will ask for an “open hearing” at an expedited date, possibly by next week, he told the Jamaica Observer last evening.
The result of Williams’ B sample yesterday confirmed the presence of the banned substance, which the A sample had indicated from late July.
The American-born Williams is the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Under-20 double sprint champion from Tampere, Finland, last year, she also broke the national junior record in the 100m at the at Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA)/Supreme Ventures National Championships (Trials) after she ran a yet to be ratified 10.94 seconds (0.6m/s) to place third in the senior women’s final behind Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who both clocked a world-leading 10.73 seconds.
Williams also holds the national junior 200m record 22.50 seconds set in Tampere, and this year set the NACAC Under-18 100m record when she won the gold in Mexico, and also won the Pan American Under-20 Championships 100m gold two weeks later in San Jose, Costa Rica.
The 17-year-old is believed to have given the positive test during Trials in June, where she provisionally earned a place on the team to next month’s World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
If found guilty of a doping violation, she faces being banned for up to four years for a first offence under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules.
It is said that Williams had taken an over-the-counter cold medicine during Trials and had declared it on her doping control form. However, the d substance is deemed a diuretic, which can be used as a masking agent.
Pointing to what he claims are leaks in the results process at the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO), and that members of the media had got hold of results of both the A and B samples before Williams’ management team, Dr Crowne said: “There is need for public scrutiny as to how JADCO maintains their results process.”
It should be noted that during the interview with the Observer, Dr Crowne did not refer to the athlete by name, even as the information is already in the public domain.
The results of the A sample was sent to Williams’ camp in late July and the result of the B sample was only sent to him at 5:46 pm yesterday, Dr Crowne said.
With the deadline for the Jamaican team to the IAAF World Championships to be named by next Friday, September 6, a combative-sounding Dr Crowne noted: “Ordinarily as a minor is involved I would not go the route of a public hearing and keep it private to protect the athlete’s identity, but there have been leaks on at least two occasions.”
It is expected that he will use a “no-fault” defence. “If we went down the no-fault route, which is under the WADA code and JADCO rules, the no-fault route gets the alleged anti-doping violation completely eliminated and she keeps her results.”
Failing that, however, Dr Crowne said: “The second route is ‘no signification fault’ or negligence, and in that section there is a special subsection that deals with contaminated products and the penalty range in that subsection is reprimand, up to two years. I would then ask for a reprimand and I think it’s a reasonable ask in light of it truly [being] contaminated, and it’s a minor and it was declared on the doping control form. But the problem is, even if she gets a reprimand she would lose her results from the JAAA National Championships.”
