Hamerlak suspended for four years for Anti-Doping violation

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced that Polish T54 wheelchair racer Tomasz Hamerlak has been suspended for four years for an Anti-Doping Rule violation.

Hamerlak returned an adverse analytical finding for stanozolol metabolites in a urine sample provided on 8 July in Switzerland.

This substance is classified under S1.1a Exogenous Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS) on the World Anti‐Doping Code (WADC) 2015 Prohibited List and is prohibited at all times, both in and out‐of‐competition.

As a result of his violation, Hamerlak will be ineligible from competition for four years from 19 August 2015, the date the athlete was provisionally suspended, until 18 August 2019.

All Hamerlak’s results obtained from the date of the test (8 July) through to the commencement of the provisional suspension (19 August) will be disqualified including forfeiture of any medals, points, records and prizes.

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.