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Callender’s comeback

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After a year’s suspension by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) on October 22, 2019 for an alleged anti-doping rule violation (ADRV), Zagora Callender is just one step away from returning to competition.

The 17-year-old Barbadian weightlifter has received clearance from the IWF for the violation that was deemed to have taken place on March 11, 2019, and resulted in a year’s penalty instead of four years because of her immediate admission.

In a letter obtained by Barbados TODAY and addressed to Barbados Olympic Association Secretary General, Erskine Simmons, attorney-at-law Nicholas Jackman acting on behalf of Callender said that her ineligibility period had come to an end.

In the letter dated April 23, Jackman wrote: “I am pleased to inform you that an agreement was executed between the International Testing Agency (on behalf of the IWF) and Ms. Callender on April 17, 2020 (the ADRV agreement). Under the ADRV agreement, the parties have agreed that Ms. Callender’s applicable period of ineligibility would be twelve (12) months and due to Ms. Callender’s prompt admission of the ADRV, the ineligibility period would be assessed from the ADRV date.

Zagora Callender should soon be resuming her weightlifting career.

“The effect of assessing the period of ineligibility from the ADRV violation date is that Ms. Callender’s period of ineligibility has now come to an end, having ended on April 21, 2020. Ms. Callender is therefore now permitted to recommence competitive training and participate in weightlifting competitions.”

Jackson went on to state: “I wish to reiterate that Ms. Callender has never tested positive for nor has she ever gained a competitive advantage from any banned substances listed by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The ADRV was only deemed to have occurred due to Ms. Callender’s full compliance with the disclosure requirements set out by WADA and the IWF respectively.”

However, chairman of the National Anti-Doping Commission, Dr. Adrian Lorde, told Barbados TODAY that even though IWF has given Callender the go ahead to compete in any events, particularly those put on by the Barbados Weightlifting Association, she must first undergo local testing which is approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

“According to the National Anti-Doping Commission rule, once you have received an anti-doping rule violation and you served a sanction before returning to competition, we require you to have one ‘give your whereabouts’ for out-of-competition testing. We have done that with all other persons who have had ADRV’s and then we do a test before competition. The reason for that, you never know what a person may be doing during off time so that is a regulation we put in place. She can resume training because even before the end of the sanction, the last two months of the sanction she could have started to train but for local competition that is our regulation,” Lorde said.

He further explained that under normal circumstances, the test usually took up to two weeks. However, the test that Callender is subject to undergo may take a while longer because the National Anti-Doping Commission has yet to receive any official information from the international testing authority in order to proceed.

Dr Adrian Lorde

“We were only informed by her lawyer. We have not gotten any official information from the international testing authority yet. We have a copy of their agreement they have signed to end the sanction on April 21st but we were not involved in this at all,” Lorde said.

Lorde explained that there was a lesson in this for all athletes and said there were several anti-doping rule violations athletes needed to be aware of if they did not already know.

“As in her case, she was not tested positive for any substance, it was a declaration of use of a prohibited substance and that was one of the anti-doping rule violations. So, she declared that she used a prohibited substance and that alone is an anti-doping rule violation just as if she had been tested for it or have been found with it. She just declared at the time of the test but when they did the test they didn’t find anything.

“But there are ten different anti-doping rule violations such as possession, trafficking, failure to report for testing when asked to test and because of her prompt admission of the use of substance, they reduced the suspension from four years which she could have had, to one year which is allowed under the WADA code.

“I think the lesson learnt here is that athletes have to be more responsible when taking any medication or supplement even if prescribe by a doctor. They need to check before taking medication that is prohibited and if so then seek an alternative drug that is allowed,” Lorde said.

morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb

The post Callender’s comeback appeared first on Barbados Today.


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