Mullings' next move unclear

Leighton Levy, Gleaner Writer

Come Monday, August 22, suspended sprinter Steve Mullings is expected to begin submitting arguments hoping to convince a disciplinary panel of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission JADCO that traces of the masking agent furosemide found in his urine sample do not mean he was using performance enhancing drugs.

However, the athlete appears to be vacillating on whether it makes sense to show up as he doesn't seem to be holding out much hope that he will be exonerated.

No proof

"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'," he told the BBC website.

"I've already gone through all my vitamins and there is nothing there. The people around me know I don't take drugs, but it's going to look bad on me because of 2004 (Mullings returned a positive test for excessive levels of testosterone during the national championships in June 2004). Now it's 2011 they said I was on drugs that I don't even know of."

This, as word came this week that the athlete's 'B' sample returned positive for furosemide considered by the World Anti-Doping Agency to be a masking agent. Mullings' 'A' sample taken during the national championships held at the National Stadium between June 23 and 26 had come back positive for the banned substance more than two weeks ago.

Mullings, who finished third in the 100 metres at the national championships and first in the 200 metres, was expected to be on Jamaica's team to the IAAF World Athletics Championships that begin in Daegu, South Korea, next weekend. The 28-year-old sprinter now faces a possible life ban at the conclusion.

The Gleaner has been informed that if Mullings or his representatives fail to turn up for the hearing, the panel of Kent Gammon, Peter Prendergast and Dr Japheth Forde will still convene and hand down a ruling that could effectively end his career. He is also going to be required to pay for the test carried out on his 'B' sample.

Powerful diuretic

According to a research paper from the Institute of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Catholic University of Rome, Italy furosemide is mainly employed as a powerful diuretic that inhibits sodium and potassium re-absorption in renal tubules. However, other valuable pharmacological effects have been discovered that include a protective action from bronchospasm. The drug shows no acute bronchodilator effect, but prevents or attenuates bronchospasm caused by many factors, such as hyperpnea, drugs, physical agents and allergen challenge in asthmatic patients.

Media reports suggest that Mullings suffers from asthma. However, the athlete who reportedly suffered an asthma attack at the Adidas Grand Prix in New York in early June was not in possession of a Therapeutic Usage Exemption certificate that would have allowed him to be using the drug as treatment for his condition.