Paralympian Jude Hamer stresses caution to athletes about what they put into body

Wheelchair basketball star Jude Hamer encourages team-mates to be careful about exactly which substances they're putting in their body.

If more than two team members are found to have committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation, all athletes in a team or squad are stripped of their medals.

And the first Violation, commonly known as strict liability, means that athletes are responsible for what is present in their sample.

Three-time Paralympian Hamer says that anti-doping rules are discussed with openness and honesty in the GB Wheelchair Basketball locker room.

"I try to help my team-mates and make sure they test everything," said Hamer.

"Even if it's a protein shake, I'm like, 'you need to make sure that's clean' because it could risk our medals if you don't check your batch numbers.

"Those things were instilled in us from a young age. If you're in a team sport, it doesn't just affect you if you dope.

"That helped me want to be really on it because it's not just about you. You're not just risking your own career; you're risking other people's."

Hamer is one of the most experienced players on the British squad that finished seventh at last summer's Paralympics in Tokyo.

The 31-year-old has won seven European medals, including silver at December's edition of the Championships, and a landmark World Championship silver medal in 2018.

Hamer is a member of the UK Anti-Doping Athlete Commission, ensuring the athlete voice is heard in the anti-doping system.

UKAD's Protect Your Sport campaign is encouraging athletes who have any information or suspicions about doping to share it anonymously via a variety of channels.

Hamer has seen several young players come and go in her time at the top of her sport, a dynamic she is conscious of when it comes to the anti-doping conversation.

"The young girls don't always know their rules from the off and I think it's very important that us older athletes explain to them the best way of doing things," said Hamer.

"If I see someone using something new, I'll tell them to make sure it's batch tested and let them know what options they have.

"It only takes one slip up. Overall, people are vigilant by themselves.

"It's good we're in a culture when people will look at someone, ask those questions, and have a little chat with each other.

"When you're in a team sport, everything is done thinking about the team and playing clean comes under that too.

"You have a responsibility to your team-mates to do your job to the best of your ability at all times and absolutely, anti-doping falls under that category."

Protecting clean sport depends on everyone in sport playing their part to maintain a level playing field. If you have any suspicions that something's not right, no matter how small, search Protect Your Sport or email pys@reportingdoping.com. Your identity will be kept 100% confidential throughout.

Sportsbeat 2022