One of Trevor Graham’s athletes that has tested positive for steroids has had her career restored after appealing the drug tests. Her case has been under review and appeal since 2006. LaTesha Jenkins can now compete again now that she has both won her appeal and WADA has dropped it’s appeal of the overturned charge earlier this week.
The decision makes it official that Jenkins is the first athlete to beat the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on a drug charge. The two-time world medalist tested positive for the steroid nandrolone at a meet in Brussels, Belgium, in July 2006.
A three-person U.S. arbitration panel had ruled against the USADA in December. It said results of her test were compromised because both European labs testing her sample violated international standards that require the tests be run by two different technicians.
While it is hard to give any athlete that is caught and that was coached by Graham the benefit of the doubt, I am glad that Jenkins has managed to come out on the winning side of this argument. While I hope to see effective measures against doping put into place, I don’t want that to come at the expense of the athlete’s rights. Any time that a lab does not follow every rule and law for the safe and secure handling of any samples from an athlete, then that sample needs to be disregarded.
(More Info: ESPN)
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