Puerta positive at Roland Garros

[tall_one]

Puerta positive at Roland Garros

Argentine Mariano Puerta risks becoming the first ATP player to receive a life ban after testing positive for the stimulant etilefrine after July's French Open final defeat to Spain's Rafael Nadal. Puerta was banned for nine month in 2003 after testing positive for the steroid clenbuterol.

The French sports daily L'Equipe reports that the A and B sample has recorded positive results for the major stimulant etilefrine, a stimulant normally used for cases of hypertension and is regarded as a product worth a two-year ban in a primary case.

The unseeded Puerta had already created the surprise of getting all the way to the French Open final, where he was finally beaten 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 6-1 7-5 by Nadal, but a positive test following that match risks ending his career.

Puerta, 27, has already been banned for nine months following a positive test in October 2003 and should the latest test prove conclusive, then he will become the first ATP player to be handed a life ban.

The report confirms that the A and B sample has recorded positive result for the major stimulant etilefrine, a stimulant normally used for cases of hypertension and is regarded as a product worth a two-year man in a primary case.

Puerta, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise from a world ranking of 400 in 2004 to 9 in 2005, could become the fifth Argentine player to fail a dope test after Juan Ignacio Chela (2000), Guillermo Coria (2001), Martin Rodriguez (2003) and Guillermo Canas (2005).

The player, who is currently competing at the Japan Open in Tokyo, is reported to have told his staff that he took medication for a bout of flu at Roland Garros.

www.eurosport.com/home/pages/v4/l0/s57/e7332/sport_lng0_spo57_evt7332_sto773858.shtml

[tall_one]

i sure hope this turns out to be false

[tall_one]

French Open finalist Mariano Puerta has denied taking any banned substances following reports that he tested positive at Roland Garros this year.

French newspaper L'Equipe said the world number 10 provided a positive test for the stimulant Etilifrine.

Puerta has previously served a nine-month drugs ban so he could face a life ban if the test is confirmed.

But Puerta said: "I'm really angry. I've started investigations with my lawyers. There's no truth in it."

Puerta served a suspension in 2003 when he tested positive for the anabolic steroid clenbutherol.

Five Argentine players have failed drugs tests in last five years.

Guillermo Canas, Guillermo Coria and Juan Ignacio Chela have all served suspensions, while Martin Rodriquez was docked ATP points and prize money.

As well as denying any wrongdoing, Puerta also said he had not been informed of any positive test.

"It's strange because nobody from the ATP or ITF has called me," he told the Reuters news agency.

"After the (previous) positive I've got to be very careful - I can't even take an orange juice."


news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport2/hi/tennis/4311058.stm

[Bruce]

So? Was it a fantasy from this newspaper? ATP still said nothing officialy.
Before saying his name, this newspaper talked about "an argentinian who played in the second week of RG", and adding men, women, singlists, doublists, juniors, there were 14 argentinians then.
Perhaps it was M.Hood´s case.

[tall_one]

bruce said:

So? Was it a fantasy from this newspaper? ATP still said nothing officialy.

nor will they say anything until November according to reports. It seems that in this day & age it take 6 months to figure out wether or not a drug test is positive

[Laury]

bruce said:

Before saying his name, this newspaper talked about "an argentinian who played in the second week of RG", and adding men, women, singlists, doublists, juniors, there were 14 argentinians then.
Perhaps it was M.Hood´s case.

I had the same feeling when I heard about Mariano Huud!

[tall_one]

ITF Anti-Doping Press Release - Decision in the case of Mariano Puerta

The International Tennis Federation announced today that an independent Anti-Doping Tribunal convened under the ITF’s 2005 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme has found that Mariano Puerta has committed a Doping Offence under the Programme.

The independent Anti-Doping Tribunal has ruled that Mr Puerta, a 27-year-old Argentine national, committed a Doping Offence under Article C.1 of the Programme (presence of a prohibited substance in a sample), in that a sample that he provided on 5 June 2005, immediately after the men's singles final of Roland Garros in Paris, tested positive for a stimulant (etilefrine), a substance prohibited in competition under the WADA Code and the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme.

The independent Tribunal, consisting of Mr Tim Kerr QC, Dr Jose Pascual and Dr Inggard Lereim, heard the matter in London on 6 and 7 December 2005. The Tribunal determined that Mr Puerta's analytical positive result was caused by an inadvertent administration of etilefrine. The Tribunal therefore confirmed the commission of a Doping Offence under Article C.1 of the Programme and automatically disqualified Mr Puerta’s results at Roland Garros, requiring forfeiture of entry ranking points, and prize money of ˆ 440,000 in singles and ˆ 3,282 in doubles.

Mr Puerta was banned by the ATP in 2003 for a Doping Offence (presence of clenbuterol in his sample) and served a nine-month ban from the sport for that offence. The positive test for etilefrine from Roland Garros was therefore his second offence. The independent Anti-Doping Tribunal rejected a defence of No Fault or Negligence, but accepted an alternative plea of No Significant Fault or Negligence. In accordance with the WADA World Anti-Doping Code it therefore imposed an eight-year suspension from competition, commencing 5 June 2005. It also determined that the results he obtained in events subsequent to Roland Garros should also be disqualified and the entry ranking points and prize money of US$ 330,925 gained in those events forfeited.

Any party wishing to appeal the decision will have three weeks to do so from receipt of the written decision.

The Tennis Anti-Doping Programme is a comprehensive and internationally recognised drug-testing programme that applies to all players competing at tournaments sanctioned by the ITF, ATP and WTA Tour. Players are tested for substances prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Charges of breach of the Programme are heard by an independent Anti-Doping Tribunal.

[Bruce]

It was a bit weird, they accept it was accidental but they want to get rid of Puerta until the end of times. 8 years seems a joke...