A national golf champion has had her title disqualified after returning a positive test for a prohibited substance.
The golfer, an amateur and recreational athlete who has not been named by the Sports Tribunal, was suspended from all sport for six months after testing positive for ostarine - a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) that acts similarly to testosterone in building muscle mass and strength.
The athlete, who was 20 at the time, was tested in-competition in November 2022. The test returned a positive result, which was confirmed by B-sample analysis in March 2023.
In their decision, the Sports Tribunal accepted the athlete’s denial that she intentionally took the substance and reduced her sanction to six months. The suspension was backdated to January 31 this year, so the athlete is free to play again.
Drug Free Sport NZ chief executive Nick Paterson said that the case was a reminder that athletes are bound by the principle of strict liability