Tokyo 2020 news - Hammer thrower Mark Dry 'heartbroken' over 'unfair and wrong' four-year ban
ByReuters
Updated 27/02/2020 at 15:45 GMT
Hammer thrower Mark Dry says the decision to ban him for four years after he lied about a missed drugs test is "unfair and wrong".
Mark Dry of Great Britain reacts during the Men's Hammer Throw Qualifying Round on Day 12 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on August 17, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Image credit: Getty Images
Dry, 31, admitted to an independent National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP) at a hearing in October last year that he had wrongfully claimed to have gone fishing on a day that he missed a drugs test.
The NADP dismissed the charges against Dry, following which UK Anti-Doping appealed to the NADP's independent appeal tribunal, which concluded that Dry intended to "subvert the Doping Control process" and banned him for four years.
"This case is a very clear example that athletes must conduct themselves with honesty during the anti-doping process, and what is at risk if they don't," UKAD deputy director of legal and regulatory affairs Stacey Cross said in a statement.
Dry, who won Commonwealth Games bronze medals for Scotland in 2014 and 2018, will be banned until September 2023.
He took to Twitter to express his frustration, saying he was "very disappointed with this decision and heartbroken by it".
"I simply cannot understand how a different panel would arrive at a four-year ban conclusion, given that the Court of Arbitration for Sport clearly indicate that the misinformation I provided does not amount to tampering.
"I cooperated fully from the start and have admitted my fault, but the punishment here does not even remotely fit the crime.
"How can they equate me with someone who injects steroids or someone who constantly lies and tries to obstruct authorities?
"Other athletes lie publicly, they change their stories and they are ok to continue with the sport. Why are they persecuting me in this manner? I would like to receive some answers to these questions."
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement