LONDON (Reuters) – Players should be wary of using health supplements made in South America, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Monday when banning Chile’s Nicolas Jarry for 11 months for an anti-doping violation.
Jarry was provisionally suspended in January after metabolites of two substances on WADA’s banned list — SARM LGD-4033 (ligandrol) and the anabolic steroid stanozolol — showed up in a urine sample he gave while playing for Chile at the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid at the end of last year.
After an investigation, the ITF said it accepted the 24-year-old’s explanation as to how SARM LGD-4033 and stanozolol entered his system — namely that he had taken “multi-vitamins” made in Brazil that his doctor had recommended because they were supposedly free from banned substances.
Despite clearing him of significant fault or negligence for his violation, the ITF still imposed a sanction, although his period of ineligibility will be back-dated to start on the date of last occurrence of his violation (Dec 16 2019).
He will lose any prize money and ranking points earned at the Davis Cup and subsequent events. Jarry, who reached as high as 38th in the world last July, will be free to resume his career on Nov. 15. He is currently down at 89th.
“With a clear conscience I tell you that we were able to prove in the investigation carried out by the ITF that the prohibited substances identified in the test, were originated in the Brazilian laboratory which cross contaminated my vitamins,” Jarry said in a statement on his Twitter account.
“I have accepted the 11-month sanction offered by the ITF.”
In a statement the ITF warned against the dangers of using supplements from South America.
“It is apparent that the consumption of bespoke supplements, in particular those made in compound pharmacies in South America, carries with it a significant degree of risk for sportsmen and women who are subject to anti-doping rules and the escalating bans that have been imposed on tennis players for such violations have not been adequate to deter other players from taking those risks,” it said.
“The ITF (i) urges all players to exercise extreme caution in considering whether to use supplements; and (ii) warns that any TADP violation that results from the ingestion of contaminated supplements will likely lead to a significant period of ineligibility.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
