Iraqi sprint coach receives lifetime ban for drugging athlete
On Wednesday, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced the lifetime ban of Iraqi national sprint coach Karokh Salih Mohammed for giving an athlete the prohibited substances stanozolol and clenbuterol without the athlete’s knowledge.
The athlete, Danah Hussein of Iraq, is a two-time Olympian, eight-time national sprint champion and the country’s record holder in the 100m (11.24) and 200m (22.51). Hussein was her country’s flag bearer at the London Olympics in 2012.
Hussein tested positive during an in-competition urine test following her gold medal-winning finish in the 100m final at the Arab Championships in Rades, Tunisia, on June 17, 2021. She qualified to represent Iraq at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but was forced to withdraw, due to a provisional doping suspension.
According to the report, Mohammed was advised by a friend of the benefits of using stanozolol and clenbuterol in combination to enhance an athlete’s performance and help them lose weight. He went ahead and purchased the drugs, knowing they were on the Prohibited Substances List.
Mohammed said he had presented the pills to the athlete in a vitamin C container immediately before her race on June 17, telling her it was something that would relax her and help relieve pain.
The report says Mohammed was responsible for giving Hussein daily training doses for more than two years, as well as nutritional supplements and vitamins without the athlete’s knowledge of what she was taking.
Stanozolol and clenbuterol are both prohibited substances under the WADA 2021 Prohibited List.
“The coach has fundamentally abused his trusted position as an Athlete Support Person and admitted to deliberately opportunistic behaviour aimed specifically at doping an Athlete, without her knowledge, to enhance her performance and thereby his own reputation,” states the AIU.
Mohammed receives a lifetime period of ineligibility from the sport, while Hussein serves a three-year suspension effective from 16 July 2021.
posted Thursday February 23rd
by Marley Dickinson