KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC) – Beleaguered Jamaican sprinter Steve Mullings has had a change of heart and will challenge the results of his positive ‘B’ sample, the Jamaica Observer reported yesterday. He was quoted as saying, “I have to” when asked if he would seek to clear his name before a hearing scheduled for tomorrow.
However, Mullings told the Observer he would not appear before the hearing but would be represented.
The 28-year-old, facing a possible life ban after an ‘A’ sample also came back positive for a banned substance, had indicated Friday that he was unlikely to contest the findings.
“What can I do? I’m going to go in front of the panel and say I never took the drug. But I don’t have the proof to say, ‘OK, it was vitamins’,” Mullings was quoted as saying.
“I’ve already gone through all my vitamins and there’s nothing in there. They say it was in my urine. That drug has to be prescribed.
“The people around me know I don’t take drugs, but it’s going to look bad on me because of 2004. Now it’s 2011 they said I was on drugs that I don’t even know of.”
He tested positive for furosemide, a powerful diuretic widely used as a masking agent, which has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Following last week’s announcement, Jamaican track and field authorities left Mullings out of the 50-member squad for the World Championships which will start next Saturday in Daegu, South Korea.