Two-Year Suspension for Italian Athlete after Anti-Doping Rule Violation

30 Nov 2010 By IPC

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced that the Italian athlete Roberto La Barbera has been suspended for two years for an Anti-Doping Rule Violation.

La Barbera returned an adverse analytical finding for Stanozolol and 16b–hydroxy-stanozolol (Class S1.1.a Exogenous AAS) in a urine sample provided on 6 June 2010 at the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) European Athletics Open Championships 2010 in Stadskanaal, the Netherlands.

Such substances are included in the 2010 Prohibited List and consequently prohibited under both the IWAS Ant-Doping Code and the IPC Anti-Doping Code, both having adopted the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC).

IWAS, in its authority as Event Organizer of the IWAS European Athletics Open Championships 2010, was in charge of the Result Management on the case. In accordance to the IPC Anti-Doping Code (art. 15.2), IPC, in its authority as the International Federation for IPC Athletics, mutually recognizes the IWAS decision of 20 October 2010. Consequently, La Barbera will serve a two year suspension for the offence dating from 22 July 2010, the date of the Provisional Suspension, and all results obtained from 6 June 2010 will be disqualified with all of the resulting consequences including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.

According to the IPC Anti-Doping Code, it is each athlete's personal duty to ensure that no prohibited substances enter his or her body. Furthermore, each athlete is responsible for any prohibited substances found in their bodily specimen, regardless of how it entered their body.

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 (2004, revision in 2009) to prevent in the spirit of fair play, doping in sport for Paralympic athletes. The IPC Anti-Doping Code is in conformity with the general principles of the WADC.