• Athletics

Sprinter Simpson suspended for 18 months

ESPN staff
April 8, 2014
Sherone Simpson said in January that she did not intentionally take a prohibited substance © AP
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Sprinter Sherone Simpson has been handed an 18-month suspension after she tested positive for a banned stimulant.

Simpson, who won 100 metres silver at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, was one of six Jamaican athletes to test positive for a prohibited substance in a doping scandal which rocked the nation, and one of five to fail a test at the national championships in Kingston last June.

Both Simpson and training partner Asafa Powell, the former 100m world record holder, tested positive for the same stimulant - oxilofrine.

In January, Simpson told a Jamaican disciplinary panel she did not intentionally take a banned substance.

Simpson, who won 4x100m relay silver at the London 2012 Olympics, claimed one of six supplements provided by her trainer Christopher Xuereb was responsible for her positive test, but accepted that she did not disclose "Epiphany D1" on doping control forms despite having extensively researched the substance.

However, a Jamaican anti-doping panel voted and agreed unanimously that Simpson was "negligent in all circumstances."

Jamaican discus thrower Allison Randall was given a two-year suspension after she provided a positive sample for prohibited diuretic hydro-chlorothiazide.

Both athletes have had their punishments backdated to June 21 2013, the date that they provided the samples. They will now miss this summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Powell is set to learn his fate on Thursday.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
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