Susanthika fails test again

COLOMBO, April 10: Susanthika Jayasinghe, Asia's fastest woman and so far Sri Lanka's best medal hope at the next Olympics, was on Friday su...

COLOMBO, April 10: Susanthika Jayasinghe, Asia’s fastest woman and so far Sri Lanka’s best medal hope at the next Olympics, was on Friday suspended provisionally from competition after she failed a second urine sample test.

Jayasinghe’s B sample, which was analysed by the International Amateur Athletics Federation laboratory in Sydney, confirmed the findings of the first test that showed up traces of the banned drug Nandrolene, a statement from the Amateur Athletics Association of Sri Lanka(AAA) said.

Following the results of the second analysis which were received by the national federation on Thursday night, Susanthika was provisionally suspended till a hearing before the AAA scheduled for next week.

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According to the press release, her written statement to the AAA after she failed the first test was also “not acceptable”. “Therefore, conforming to the IAAF procedural guidelines for doping control, as no adequate expalantion is received, the test shall be regarded as positive. In this regard, theathlete has been advised that she will be suspended provisionally pending a hearing,” the AAA statement said.

Next week’s hearing will decide her future as an athlete.If she is found guilty Sri Lanka’s sprint queen will almost certainly be barred from international competition for two to four years.

“She must trust us and cooperate with us so that we can take back to the IAAF a convincing explanation on her behalf. At the moment, she thinks we are against her but that is not the right attitude,” AAA president Ari Kannangara told The Indian Express.

The B sample on which the second test was done was taken at the same time as the first sample. As yet, the IAAF has not yet responded to Susanthika’s appeal for a third test with a fresh sample.

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Susanthika tested positive for the same substance after winning gold at the Asian championships in Jakarta in 1995, but at that time, Sri Lanka’s athletics establishment went all out to prove that it was due to a period-delaying drug she wastaking.

Last week, Susanthika alleged that this time there was a “conspiracy” to frame her and the samples which were taken by the AAA and sent to the lab in Sydney were tampered with or switched. For evidence, she pointed out that no one in the sporting establishment had offered to help her out of this fresh mess in the way they had done in 1995. Kannangara denied the charges and said the AA was doing everything in its powers to help Susanthika. “We have to go step by step. We do not want her to be banned. But for this, she must help us to put her case forward.”