Triathlete banned in shock new doping scandal for Aussie sport
Fresh on the heels of the Shayna Jack saga, Australian sport has been rocked by a fresh doping scandal.
Aussie triathlete Stephen Thompson has been stripped of a silver medal earned at the 2018 world championships and banned for four years.
The Sydney Morning Herald revealed on Wednesday that Thompson had tested positive to EPO.
"His urine sample returned an adverse analytical finding for the non-specified substance EPO, classified under the prohibited list as a peptide hormone," the International Triathlon Union said.
Exclusive: Australian triathlete Stephen Thompson has been stripped of his silver medal from the world championships on the Gold Coast last year and banned for four years after testing positive to EPO | @gmaddox https://t.co/wztL98bjfy
— The Sydney Morning Herald (@smh) July 30, 2019
According to the Australia government's National Drug Strategy, EPO is a "naturally occurring hormone produced by cells in the kidneys that regulate the production of red blood cells in bone marrow".
Thompson won a silver medal in the 35-39 category in the sprint event at the world championships on the Gold Coast – a 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run.
However that medal has now been stripped and a four-year ban imposed.
"He ran past me," Aussie rival Travis Shields told the Herald.
"I remember trying to run with him and, at about 2k, he dropped me like a hot rock."
Shield was elevated to the bronze medal as a result of Thompson’s disqualification.
Paralympian disqualified as a result
In a disturbing twist, visually-impaired athlete Gerrard Gosens has also disqualified because Thompson was his guide.
"The results and points he earned at the 2018 Gold Coast Grand Final will be disqualified, with all resulting consequences, including the forfeiture of any titles, awards, medals, points and appearance money,” the ITF said.
Thompson told the Herald he didn’t knowingly dope but wouldn’t fight the ITF because of "so much going on in my personal life that isn't that positive.”
Gossen said Thompson had emailed him to apologise, but was shattered that his hopes of qualifying for the 2020 Paralympic were in tatters.
“Those points are crucial for my qualification for 2020,” he said. “It’s placed things in the balance for me.
“The heartbreaking fact is that my result has been affected by another person’s result two days prior.”
