Thursday, October 2, 2008

Simon Daubney banned over cocaine test...

(http://www.nzherald.co.nz ) - Four-time America's Cup winner Simon Daubney was banned for two years after testing positive for cocaine ahead of Team Alinghi's victory last year.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which asked for the 49-year-old New Zealander to be suspended.

Cup officials had originally cleared him after he denied knowingly taking the drug. A CAS panel of three lawyers ruled yesterday that the America's Cup jury was wrong to decide that Daubney was not at fault for the presence of cocaine in his doping sample.

In a statement, CAS said cup organisers "did not adopt anti-doping rules consistent with the World Anti-Doping Code."

"The objective presence of cocaine metabolites in Mr. Daubney's urine samples is undisputed," the panel said. "Daubney has not established that he bears no significant fault or negligence."
Daubney tested positive before racing began in last year's America's Cup at Valencia, Spain, the first failed doping test in the 157-year history of the competition. Read more...