Dutch athlete blames positive doping test on cheap chicken

Dutch athlete Solomon Bockarie tested positive for the growth hormone GHRP-2 during an out-of-competition check in early July, the sprinter announced. He insists that he wasn’t doping. His spokesperson Robbin Pieterman speculates that the hormone ended up in his system through cheap chicken he ate, NOS reports.

“I don’t know how this product got into my body,” Bockarie said to the broadcaster. “I only know one thing for sure. And that is that I have not used doping. If anyone is vehemently against using banned stimulants, it’s me.”

According to Pieterman, Bockarie tested positive after eating chicken he bought at the market in The Hague. “It could be that this chicken had been treated with hormones and that he got this hormone in his body from eating this chicken,” Pieterman said. “Fortunately, Solomon still has pieces of this chicken at home. We will try to have it examined to show that the hormone entered Solomon’s body through this route.”

“I have a lot of questions about this check and the results,” said Bockarie. “Let me emphasize that an athlete is at all times responsible for the substances found in his body. But in this case, so much is unclear that I would like some clarification.”

Vincent Egbers of the Doping Authority refused to comment on the matter. “We are waiting for the athlete’s formal response first,” he said to NOS.

Bockarie was part of the Dutch team at the Olympic Games in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

posted Sunday September 4th