SYDNEY, New South Wales: Australian Olympic javelin thrower Jarrod Bannister () said yesterday he has been banned from competition for 20 months after missing three drug tests.
Bannister, 28, the reigning Commonwealth gold medallist, said he had been banned until February 2015 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport because he missed three drug tests in an 18-month period.
Bannister said in a statement on his Facebook page that the court had agreed that he had not deliberately set out to dodge the tests, but that missing three in that time period was considered to be tantamount to a failed drug test.
“It was found that there was no deliberate action by myself to avoid being tested. That finding is consistent with my defence submissions at the hearing on the 21 June 2013,” said Bannister, who will not be able to defend his Commonwealth crown in Glasgow next year.
Bannister blamed poor communication and procedures by Athletics Australia as a key reason for his breaching of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority’s (ASADA’s) athlete whereabouts programme.
The programme requires drugs agencies to be made aware of athletes’ movements at all times. AFP
