media_artricles :: 2014

Hackett CAS case cancelled

T&T sprinter’s lawyers settle with IAAF

The Semoy Hackett doping case will not be decided at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The CAS hearing was scheduled for next Tuesday, in New York, USA, but has been cancelled following a settlement between Hackett’s legal team and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

In June 2012, Hackett had tested positive for Methylhexaneamine at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, in Iowa, USA. The National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) disciplinary panel handed the Louisiana State University (LSU) sprinter a provisional suspension, but later lifted it.

At the 2013 Trinidad and Tobago Championships, Hackett secured silver in the women’s 200 metres and finished fourth in the 100m final. She qualified for the World Championships in both events, and was selected on the T&T team that travelled to Moscow, Russia, for the global meet. But while Hackett was in Moscow, the IAAF—not in agreement with the NAAA’s decision to lift her suspension—lodged an appeal with the CAS. The re-suspended athlete left the Championships.

The 2012 positive was Hackett’s second doping offence. She had served a six-month ban after testing positive—also for Methylhexaneamine—at the 2011 T&T Championships.

A source confirmed yesterday that the CAS hearing has been cancelled.

“Her legal team,” the source told the Express, “made an agreement with the IAAF. There is no information yet on any sanction, but the parties agreed to settle the case, asking the CAS to suspend the procedure while they sign the settlement documents.”

When the settlement is finalised, the IAAF will convey the decision to the CAS.

Another T&T sprinter, Kelly-Ann Baptiste was expected to appear before the NAAA disciplinary panel last month. However, that hearing did not take place.

It has been “postponed to an undetermined date,” the source explained, “due to ongoing investigations.”

Last year, Baptiste tested positive for a banned substance, and withdrew from the World Championships.

The 2011 World Championship women’s 100m bronze medallist is based in Florida, USA, and is part of the same training camp as American sprint star Tyson Gay.

Gay also tested positive for a banned substance in 2013. In fact, it was reported in a July 27 Associated Press report that Gay “had multiple positives”.

“One person familiar with the case told the AP that multiple positives over a short period of time are a sign of an athlete who wasn’t trying to hide anything but simply didn’t know he was taking a banned drug,” the AP report stated.

“Gay is cooperating with USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency).

“Since news of his positive,” AP reported, “media reports have linked Gay to Clayton Gibson, an anti-aging doctor based in Atlanta.”

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