AIU head cautions athletes about using popular ‘IV therapies’
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is cautioning athletes about the use of ‘intravenous (IV) drip therapy’, in the wake of four-month bans
for Rushelle Burton (Jamaica) and Tamara Clark (USA).
Both athletes admitted to each receiving an IV infusion ‘of more than 100mL in a twelve-hour period’ on 25 January 2023. This constituted an Anti-Doping Rule
Violation (ADRV) under World Athletics Anti-Doping Rule 2.2: use or attempted use by an athlete of a Prohibited Substance or a Prohibited Method.
The matter came to light when Clark was subjected to drug testing by the AIU on 26 January 2023.
She and Burton proactively informed the AIU about the treatment received and readily cooperated with the subsequent investigation which confirmed the IVs contained no Prohibited Substances and that the violations of the Rules were inadvertent.
The athletes accepted voluntary provisional suspensions from 1 February 2023, pending the conclusions of their matters which were ultimately settled via Case Resolution Agreements involving the athletes, the AIU and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Burton and Clark were given periods of ineligibility from 1 February to 30 May 2023 and their results from 25 January 2023 to 1 February 2023 have been disqualified.
The AIU stressed that, though IV drip therapy is increasingly popular in some parts of the world, it could constitute a serious breach of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules (ADR).
AIU Head Brett Clothier noted: ‘It is critical that athletes are aware of the rules concerning IV infusions. In this case, the sanctions reflect the fact that the athletes brought the matter to the AIU’s attention themselves, but other athletes may receive harsher sanctions in different circumstances.
‘These cases should serve as a warning to all athletes in our sport to take care of what they put into their body.’
IV infusions or injections have been on the WADA List of Prohibited Substances and Methods since 2005 and are the supply of fluid and/or prescribed medication by drip or push directly into a vein.
Culled from Athletics Integrity Unit website
