USADA announced today that Brian Abers, of Colorado Springs, Colo., an athlete in the sport of cycling, has accepted a one-year period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation.
Abers, 56, tested positive for ibutamoren as the result of an in-competition urine sample collected at the 2021 USA Cycling Masters Track National Championships on September 16, 2021. Ibutamoren is a non-Specified Substance in the class of Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances, and Mimetics and prohibited at all times under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee National Anti-Doping Policies, and the International Cycling Union Anti-Doping Rules, all of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.
Following notification of his positive test, Abers provided USADA with information about a dietary supplement product he was using prior to his sample collection on September 16, 2021. Although no prohibited substances were listed on the supplement label, analysis conducted by the WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah, indicated that the product contained ibutamoren.
The presence of an undisclosed prohibited substance in a product is regarded as contamination and the determination that an athlete’s positive test was caused by a contaminated product may result in a reduced sanction, as was the case here. If athletes choose to use supplements despite the known risks, USADA has always recommended that athletes use only dietary supplements that have been certified by a third-party program that tests for substances prohibited in sport. USADA currently recognizes NSF Certified for Sport® as the program best suited for athletes to reduce the risk from supplements.
Abers’s one-year period of ineligibility began on October 6, 2021, the date his provisional suspension was imposed. In addition, Abers has been disqualified from all competitive results obtained on and subsequent to September 16, 2021, the date his positive sample was collected, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.
In an effort to aid athletes, as well as support team members such as parents and coaches in understanding the rules applicable to them, USADA provides comprehensive instruction on its website on the testing process and prohibited substances, how to file and update athlete Whereabouts, how to obtain permission to use a necessary medication, and the risks and dangers of taking supplements, as well as performance-enhancing and recreational drugs.
In addition, USADA manages a drug reference hotline, Global Drug Reference Online (www.GlobalDRO.com), conducts educational sessions with National Governing Bodies and their athletes, and distributes a multitude of educational materials, such as an easy-reference wallet card with examples of prohibited and permitted substances, a supplement guide, a nutrition guide, an clean sport handbook, and periodic alerts and advisories.
USADA makes available a number of ways to report the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs in sport in an effort to protect clean athletes and promote clean competition. Any tip can be reported using the USADA Play Clean Tip Center, by text at 87232 (“USADA”), by email at playclean@USADA.org, by phone at 1-877-Play Clean (1-877-752-9253) or by mail.
USADA is responsible for the testing and results management process for athletes in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement and is equally dedicated to preserving the integrity of sport through research initiatives and educational programs.
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