Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell, who was tested positive for the banned substance oxilophrine last year has told a disciplinary panel he did not list all the supplements he was taking on his doping control form because he forgot their names.
The former 100-meter world record holder testified before a three-member Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) panel Tuesday after being found positive for the prohibited stimulant oxilophrine. The substance is said to have come from a supplement called Epiphany D1, which, Powell said he had been taking on the recommendation of Canadian trainer and physical therapist Chris Xuereb.
Powell, who faces a two-year ban if found guilty of a doping violation, told the panel that he started taking the supplements roughly a month before the Jamaican national championships began on June 20. He also said that he doubled the dosage of the supplements on the morning of his positive drug test claiming he had been told by Xuereb to take two capsules of Epiphany D1 each morning for the first week and then double the dosage the following week. "Chris (Xuereb) came to my room the morning of the trials and said I must remember to take four," he said.
As to why he did not include Epiphany D1 on his doping control form, the 31 year old sprinter said it was because it was foreign to him. "All the supplements were new to me, so I could not remember all of them," he said. Powell also said that he had failed to see if Epiphany D1 was on the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of banned products. "I don't know the list, but I knew of the list," he said. "I know there is a list we are supposed to check."
Powell is one of five Jamaicans to test positive at the national championships. His former training partner, Sherone Simpson, a three-time Olympic medalist, also returned positive for the banned substance and appeared before a disciplinary panel last week.
Both Powell and Simpson blamed Xuereb for supplying the supplement that contain oxilophrine. Xuereb, however, has denied giving them performance-enhancing drugs saying that the sprinters should take responsibility for their failed drug tests.
