IRISH BOXER SEAN Turner has been handed a 1-year suspension after being found guilty of committing an anti-doping rule violation.
The Drimnagh BC super heavyweight, who won the national senior title earlier this year, violated Article 2.4 of the Anti-Doping Rules by failing on three occasions to give his whereabouts by the required deadline within an 18-month period.
His case was heard by a disciplinary panel, which took into account that it may not have been deliberate but stressed the importance for strict adherence to the rules. It also noted that the athlete did in all cases later give his whereabouts – just after the deadline had passed.
A statement released today by The Irish Sports Council and the Irish Amateur Boxing Association reads:
“The Irish Sport Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel has determined that boxer Sean Turner has committed an anti-doping rule violation. Mr Turner admitted to the panel a violation of Article 2.4 of the Irish Anti-Doping Rules by failing on three occasions within eighteen (18) months to return whereabouts details by the required deadline.”
It is the first case of its kind in Ireland and although Turner has been banned for a year, it is dated from Match 13 of this year, meaning his results in the National Championships still stand.
The hearing was held under Article 8 (Disciplinary Process) of the Rules and this announcement is made pursuant to Article 15 (Public Disclosure) of the Rules.
Rule 2.4.1 states: An Athlete shall be deemed to have committed an anti-doping rule violation under Article 2.4 if he or she commits a total of three (3) Whereabouts Failures, which may be any combination of Filing Failures and/or Missed Tests adding up to three (3) in total, within any eighteen (18) month period, irrespective of which AntiDoping Organisation has declared each of the Whereabouts Failures in question
Turner is currently unavailable for comment.
