KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC- Jamaican athletes Dominique Blake and Ricardo Cunningham , accused of using banned substances, are to reappear before the disciplinary committee of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission next month.
Cunningham will return on November 1, while Blake is due to reappear November 3, 4 and 5 following the adjournment of their cases on Wednesday.
A letter from a physician was rejected by the disciplinary committee on the basis that the doctor must attend the hearing, Jamaican media have reported.
Blake’s case was adjourned after she was given the wrong set of documents by JADCO, who was ordered to reissue her with the correct ones by next week.
Quarter-miler Blake and her team came prepared to challenge the case brought against her.
“My client is here now, she does not reside in Jamaica and we are here now and believe we can present a good rebuttal”declared Khadine Dixon, Blake’s attorney.
“We are prepared to present a case to you”.
However Dixon said that she was unable to present a proper brief to the hearing because her client was provided with incorrect documentation by the JADCO Disciplinary Panel Secretariat.
“That was due to a lack of experience” admitted JADCO attorney Lackston Robinson.
“But certain documents should not have been sent to the respondent. An error was made”.
Blake, a member of the Jamaica team which participated in the London Olympic games in August, is facing her second ban.
She is reported to have tested positive for the stimulant methylhexaneamine, the same substance she received a nine-month ban for in 2006.
Meanwhile, Cunningham, will not challenge the assertion brought against him, after he returned slightly higher-than-allowed levels of pseudoephedrine from his sample.
The national 800 metre champion was asked to return with a witness, after he explained that he had taken cough medicine.
Pseudoephedrine, despite being on WADA’s list of banned substances, is not listed as a performance-enhancement substance and is a common element in popular cold and cough medicines.
