A notice has been issued by World Archery to all of its National Federations regarding the potential anti-doping issues involved with the use of beauty products and supplements.
Two athletes were found to have committed anti-doping rule violations for the presence of Sibutramine, the prohibited substance, in the past year. The substance was ingested either through contaminated nutritional supplements or beauty products. Both archers received doping bans between six and eight months. The sport’s governing body did not disclose information about the identity of the two archers. However, it was disclosed by the disciplinary panels that the athletes took the substance unintentionally.
A statement from World Archery reads that it has issued an anti-doping notice to remind athletes to check the contents of any supplement or product and strongly consider the possible implications of consumption. The statement further reads that prohibited substances may be added deliberately during a product’s manufacturing process or included inadvertently through contamination and also added that the prohibited substance in many cases is not listed on the product’s ingredient label. The statement also reads that athletes are solely responsible for any substance that enters their body and therefore strongly advised to consult a doctor, specialist or their national anti-doping agency before consuming any sort of dietary or beauty supplement.
Any athlete who is competing in a world record status or world ranking competition, according to World Archery rules, may be tested for anti-doping purposes while additional controls at other events could be imposed by National Federations.
Jay Lyon, the Commonwealth Games silver medalist, is presently serving a doping ban of two years following a failed drugs test. The 30-year-old Lyon won the individual silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and claimed he “never intentionally took anything”.
Lyon received a suspension until May 19, 2018 after he tested positive for the banned stimulant Oxilofrine. The stimulant that is not a controlled substance in North America is said to be present in a number of products that has subsequently resulted in athletes being caught out. Some of the high-profile athletes testing positive for the substance include Jamaica’s Olympic champion sprinters Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson. They were both banned for a period of 18 months each before the Court of Arbitration for Sport slashed their suspensions to just six months.
In another development, an agreement was formalized between World Archery and the Archery Trade Association (ATA) in the build-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Under the agreement, both parties initially signed a commitment to join forces before the fourth stage of the Indoor Archery World Cup season in Las Vegas. The ATA represents the interests of manufacturers, distributors, retailers, sales representatives, and others working in the archery industry.
A World Archery statement reads that formalizing of the agreement is an indication of the two organizations’ shared vision for a world in which everyone has the opportunity to make archery their activity of choice in the communities where they live. World Archery secretary general Tom Dielen remarked the ATA and World Archery have been collaborating on projects for a number of years. Dielen added this MoU formalizes our commitment to continue that relationship, working together for the betterment of archery – and through shared expertise, better approaching the challenges and opportunities we face as a community.
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