Powell Vows to Appeal Against 18-Month Ban

Asafa Powell has described his 18-month doping ban as “unfair and unjust” and confirmed his intention to appeal to the court of arbitration for sport.

The sprinter was banned on Thursday by a disciplinary panel of the Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission following his positive test for the stimulant oxilofrine at last summer’s Jamaica national championships. The ban is backdated to the time of the offence, meaning Powell will be eligible to compete again in December.

The ruling on the 31-year-old comes two days after his training partner Sherone Simpson was also given an 18-month ban after testing positive for the same stimulant at the national championships. Powell, who held the 100m world record between 2005 and 2008, said in a statement: “This ruling is not only unfair, it is patently unjust. Panels such as these, I understood, were assembled to allow athletes who consciously or unconsciously come into conflict with the rules of sport a chance at equitable redemption. Unfortunately, this was not the case.”

Powell claimed that he took a legal supplement, Epiphany D1, which was contaminated with oxilofrine. His statement continued:

“I want to reiterate that I have never knowingly taken any banned substances. I did all the necessary checks before taking Epiphany D1 and it is my hope that the CAS will prove to be a more open and fair avenue for the review of all the facts in my case – facts and truth that were not taken into consideration at my initial hearing.”

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