The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced today that Dr. Luis Garcia del Moral, a former team doctor for the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling team and a Spanish physician who formerly practiced sports medicine, has been granted a reduced period of ineligibility that supersedes his previous lifetime sanction from USADA and he is no longer under sanction with immediate effect.
In 2016, Dr. del Moral entered a cooperation agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), and USADA, and provided testimony at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing regarding Johan Bruyneel, Pedro Celaya Lemaza, and Pepe Marti. The CAS panel of arbitrators found Dr. del Moral’s testimony to be credible, truthful, and useful in its decision regarding Bruyneel, Celaya, and Marti. According to the decision, the panel regarded del Moral’s testimony and email evidence as “the straw that literally broke the back of Mr. Bruyneel’s evidence.”
At the CAS hearing, Dr. del Moral’s cooperation agreement with WADA, the UCI, and USADA was entered into evidence and is discussed in the arbitrators’ decision. As noted in the CAS award, Dr. del Moral’s lifetime period of ineligibility is reduced to five years in the event he provides truthful testimony and full cooperation. The arbitrators found that Dr. del Moral’s testimony was truthful. The cooperation agreement also stipulated any reduction would not take effect until a final determination was reached by the arbitrators and this occurred on October 24, 2018. Thererefore, pursuant to the cooperation agreement, Dr. del Moral’s sanction expired on July 10, 2017, but is being announced today.
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 obtain permission to use a necessary medication, and the risks and dangers of taking supplements (www.Supplement411.org) 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, an athlete handbook, and periodic alerts and advisories.
Along with education and testing, robust anti-doping programs enable investigations stemming from tips and whistleblowers. 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 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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