Lausanne, Switzerland: Olympic and world 100 metres champion Shelly-Ann Fraser has tested positive for a tooth painkiller she neglected to list on a doping form.
She has been provisionally suspended by the IAAF pending a hearing.
"I have nothing to hide," a defiant Fraser said, after withdrawing from the Lausanne Diamond League meeting.
The positive test was triggered by her failure to list on a doping form, at May's Shanghai Diamond League meeting, a painkiller she had been given by her coach for a three-day-old severe tooth pain."I will go home (Friday) and have a hearing before my federation in Jamaica," she added. "I hope they will accept my explanation."
IAAF officials could not be reached for comment, but both her agent and coach confirmed the sprinter's suspension. Fraser, a role model for Jamaican youth, said she had mixed emotions about the positive. "I take some responsibility because athletes are supposed to be responsible for what they take," she said. "But I am upset because everybody is starting to assume I am taking drugs. My reputation is ruined somewhat."
Her coach, Stephen Francis, said the punishment for such a violation usually is a public warning. "It is not a performance-enhancing substance nor a masking agent," the coach said.
Fraser was notified of the positive result about three weeks ago and said on Thursday she'd been provisionally suspended, her agent, Adrian Laidlaw, said in an interview. Only her "A" sample has been tested, Fraser said. "There is no need to test (the "B" sample) because I don't appeal." She said she had three teeth filled in Jamaica before flying to Shanghai and had sought help from medical and meeting officials for resulting pain. When their medication did not ease the hurt, she had thought of withdrawing from the Shanghai race, she said. But Francis persuaded her to take a painkiller.
