The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) today confirms an independent tribunal has determined that tennis players Tara Moore and Barbara Gatica bore No Fault or Negligence for their Adverse Analytical Findings and are therefore not subject to a period of ineligibility.
Moore and Gatica were provisionally suspended under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP) on 27 May 2022 and 17 June 2022 respectively, having tested positive for anabolic steroid boldenone (and nandrolone in the case of Moore) in Bogotá, Colombia in April 2022.
A hearing was convened remotely by Sport Resolutions on 14 and 15 December 2023, following which the independent tribunal determined that contaminated meat consumed by each player in the days before sample collection was the source of the prohibited substance(s) found in the players' samples and, therefore, that both players bore No Fault or Negligence for their violations.
Accordingly, no period of ineligibility was imposed on either player, and the provisional suspensions imposed on each player under the TADP have been immediately lifted - although Gatica remains suspended from tennis due to separate Tennis Anti-Corruption Program offenses.
The ITIA has issued, and will continue to issue, information concerning the risks of meat contamination in certain parts of the world to all players.
The decision is available to read in full by clicking here.
Ends
Published 23 December 2023 11:00
