A young female golfing champion has been banned for doping in a bizarre case involving kissing, custard pudding and a bodybuilder in a Dunedin Airbnb.
The 20-year-old was one of a group of young golfers staying in the city last November who shared their accommodation with a bodybuilder described as a known user of steroids, in a Sports Tribunal of New Zealand decision.
She was tested in-competition and returned a positive result ostarine, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) that is banned in sport.
The Sports Tribunal accepted her denial that she intentionally took the substance, which helps muscle growth, and banned her for six months, backdated to January 31.
The golfer is now able to return to sport, but her national title will be disqualified.
In its finding the tribunal said the only plausible scenarios for accidental ingestion of ostarine were kissing the bodybuilder, referred to as Mr X, or tasting custard-flavoured protein powder.
Expert witnesses said kissing was a plausible mechanism to transfer ostarine into another person’s system.
However, it could only have occurred in this case if Mr X had taken ostarine in tablet or pill form within an hour before kissing.
There was insufficient evidence that this was what happened.
The tribunal heard evidence that Mr X had a tub of custard powder which he sprinkled over his cereals and into his smoothies. He also used the powder to make custard.
If ostarine was present it would have to have been by way of contamination at the point of manufacture or by someone adding ostarine to it. The custard powder was never tested, the tribunal said.
The golfer admitted eating two spoonfuls of a custard pudding sitting on a kitchen bench.
“It seems likely that it was a momentary lapse on part that caused her to try the custard pudding,” the finding said.
“Returning to the possible scenarios, the Tribunal has already rejected the kiss as being the probable source of ingestion.
“That leaves the custard pudding as a potential source but that could only arise if we can first be satisfied that it was contaminated.
“There is, of course, no direct evidence of that because it was never tested but despite that we are being asked to draw an inference from all the surrounding circumstances that it probably was.”
The golfer was described as being very determined to achieve her goal of one day becoming a professional golfer.
“She described a serious approach to her diet which did not involve drinking alcohol or using drugs of any kind. She had used supplements but that was some years ago.”
The tribunal found that inadvertent anti-doping rule violation occurred, and that the golfer did not intentionally ingest ostarine.
Drug Free Sport New Zealand Chief Executive Nick Paterson said that the case was a reminder that athletes are bound by the principle of strict liability:
“Despite the athlete’s high level of competition, she is technically a recreational athlete and does not need to prove specifically where the substance came from.
“The most important thing for athletes to remember here is that whether they took a substance intentionally or not, they are always responsible for its presence. Every athlete has the right to competition that’s free from the influence of doping.”
