Afghani field athlete suspended for four years for Anti-Doping Violation

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced that the Afghani field athlete Mohammad Naiem Durani has been suspended for four years for an Anti-Doping Violation committed at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Durani returned an adverse analytical finding for 19-Norandrosterone in a urine sample provided on 8 September in an out-of-competition test conducted in Rio, Brazil, ahead of his field event at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

This substance is included on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) 2016 Prohibited List under the category 1.1b Endogenous Anabolic Androgenic Steroids and is prohibited at all times, both in and out of competition.

As a result of his violation, Durani will be ineligible from competition for four years from 14 September 2016, the date of the decision, until 13 September 2020. The athlete has also had his result from the men’s javelin F44, where he finished 16th, disqualified. Following the decision, Durani had his Rio 2016 accreditation withdrawn and has left the Paralympic Village.

The principle of strict liability applies to anti-doping matters. Therefore, each athlete is strictly liable for the substances found in his or her sample, and that an anti-doping rule violation occurs whenever a prohibited substance (or its metabolites or markers) is found in his or her bodily specimen, whether or not the athlete intentionally or unintentionally used a prohibited substance or was negligent or otherwise at fault.

As a signatory of the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC), the IPC remains committed to a doping free sporting environment at all levels. The IPC, together with the International Federations and the National Paralympic Committees, established the IPC Anti-Doping Code to prevent doping in sport for Paralympic athletes, in the spirit of fair play. The IPC Anti-Doping Code is in conformity with the general principles of the WADC.