Belarusian European high jumper U-23 champion, Dzmitry Nabokau has been banned for two years following his positive test for furosemide last year.
Nabokau was provisionally suspended in November following the positive test for the diuretic, which can be used to mask the presence of other drugs.
Nabokau had claimed he had never taken a prohibited substance and was an advocate for clean sport.
He wrote to the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) suggesting the suspected source of furosemide was through contact with objects or products that his grandmother had taken, as she had been using the substance on the recommendation of a doctor.
As well as visiting his grandmother, Nabokau said she would send him food parcels consisting of various foods including meat, sweet pies and fruit.
He suggested the substance could have been transmitted on surfaces and in foods, with the source of the furosemide in his sample coming as a result of inadvertent ingestion.
Nabokau also relied on an experiment carried out by the Belarus Anti-Doping Laboratory, which the AIU argued had flaws and did not test his explanation.
The panel said that Nabokau had appeared “genuinely surprised and upset with the doping results” and that it had “some sympathy” with the submissions made on his behalf.
Nabokau was found to have been unable to establish how the furosemide came to be in his sample, however, with the athlete required to demonstrate how his explanation was probable.
The high jumper was handed a two-year sanction, which has been backdated to the start of his provisional suspension on October 28.
His sanction will expire on October 27 in 2021.
Nabokau has represented Belarus at several major events including the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, where he was unable to reach the final of the men’s high jump.
Nabokau had finished second in the 2014 World Junior Championships in Eugene and then won the 2017 European Athletics Under-23 Championships in Bydgoszcz.
He also competed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
