Sport Ireland confirm anti-doping violation at Dublin Marathon

Canadian athlete Natasha Yaremczuk has admitted to a doping violation following her participation at the Dublin City Marathon in 2017.

The news was confirmed by Sport Ireland today that Yaremczuk committed a violation of Article 2.1 of the Irish Anti-Doping Rules with “ the presence of a Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers” in the sample, testing positive for the presence of the prohibited substances 1,3-dimethylbutylamine (DMBA) and higenamine. The test was carried out following her 10th place finish at the Marathon on October 29, 2017. Ms Yaremczuk promptly admitted the violation, claiming the substances to have been in a food product she had been using since 2014, a dietary supplement called XM Burn. Sport Ireland notified the athlete of her anti-doping rule violation on April 25, 2018. and following the positive test, the sporting body worked with Ms Yaremczuk's Lawyers in order to determine how the substance had entered her body and whether or not she bore 'No Significant Fault or Negligence'. No Significant Fault or Negligence means:

"The Athlete or other Person's establishing that his or her Fault or negligence, when viewed in the totality of the circumstances and taking into account the criteria for No Fault or Negligence, was not significant in relationship to the anti-doping rule violation. Except in the case of a Minor, in order to establish No Significant Fault or Negligence for any violation of Article 2.1, the Athlete must also establish how the Prohibited Substance entered his or her system".

Sport Ireland was satisfied that the Canadian established that she bore No Significant Fault or Negligence and in the totality of the circumstances they believed a 14 month period of Ineligibility was an appropriate sanction. The 38-year-old accepted the decision and confirmed that she has not competed since the Dublin Marathon, as well as admitting the anti-doping violation once notified of it. The ban has been back dated to the day of the sample and will expire on December 29, 2018. Her 10th placed finish has been stricken from the records.