WHEN news broke that South Africa’s leading cyclist, Daryl Impey, had tested positive for taking a banned masking agent in July, this newspaper called for him to be given the benefit of the doubt until he was given the chance to defend himself.
We are happy to report that our country’s first cyclist to don the yellow jersey during the Tour de France last year has come up with compelling proof that he had taken the Probenecid – a masking agent commonly used to hide doping substances – unwittingly and through no fault of his own.
The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (Saids) has accepted the decision by an independent tribunal to clear Impey of the charge based on the evidence he has presented.
At the time, Impey did not deny taking the substance but denied knowingly using it. The explanation for how it came up in his system is backed up by evidence that cannot be disputed. A Durban pharmacy produced hard proof that it had supplied the cyclist with products that had been cross-contaminated with Probenecid; a pharmacist had handled the substance right before assisting Impey with his purchase.
The saga could have ended with a much worse fate for Impey, who says “cycling is not a hobby for me. This puts bread and butter on the table for my family”. He has already lost out, not only in terms of revenue but also in terms of his reputation as a cloud hung over his head.
There is no doubt that Impey will be far more vigilant in future and will be well-advised to leave nothing to chance. But hard questions need to be asked of Saids in this unfortunate chain of events. It had been aware of the positive test in February already but only notified Impey months later, which put paid to Impey’s ambitions for this year’s Tour de France. The reason it offered for the delay was the death of a lab technician. But this is scant comfort for Impey as it could have cost him his career.
When dealing with professional athletes, especially when their livelihoods and reputations are at risk, it is not too much to expect that Saids treats matters with the due care and diligence they deserve.