USADA Announces Three Doping Sanctions, One Warning to Begin Month of May

By Adam Kopet, DyeStat Editor

The last nine days has seen four doping related announcements for United States track and field athletes.

On Tuesday, USADA announced triple jumper Imani Oliver is serving a one-year suspension for an in-competition positive test for ostarine at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. Ostarine falls under the category of Anabolic Agents. She jumped a personal best 46-0 (14.02m) at the Trials.

Oliver, 24, cooperated fully with USADA investigators, helping to reduce her suspension to one year, beginning July 7, 2016. The source of the ostarine came from a dietary supplement Oliver purchased March 16, 2016. She has been disqualified from all results from March 16, 2016, onward.

On May 4, USADA announced shot putter Darien Moore is serving a four-year suspension for an in-competition positive test from the USATF Indoor Championships. Moore won the shot put with a best mark of 68-2.25 (20.78m). He tested positive for the methandienone metabolites epimetendiol, 17-epimethandienone and 17β-hydroxymethyl-17α-methyl-18-norandrost-1,4,13-trien-3-one.

Moore, 25, began his four-year suspension March 4, the date of his positive test. He has been disqualified from the USATF Indoor Championships and will be ordered to return his medal and prize money.

On May 2, USADA announced distance runner Cliff Nielson began a four-year suspension April 26. He was sanctioned for his use and possession of multiple prohibited growth hormone (GH) releasing factors (GHRFs), including a GH-Releasing Hormone (GHRH) analog modified GRF (1-29), a GH Secretagogue (GHS) ipamorelin, GH Releasing Peptide (GHRP) GHRP-2 from September 14, 2014 through approximately May 18, 2015.

It should be noted that Nielson, 25, shows no track results since 2012 when he was a sophomore at Utah Valley. He runs The Cliff Edge, a website that "dedicated to optimizing endurance and athletic performance through proper training, nutrition, dietary supplementation, as well as any other means that can be found."

Nielson is to be disqualified from all results dating back to September 14, 2014.

On May 1, USADA announced it had given Molly Beckwith-Ludlow a public warning over a positive out-of-competition test for hydroxyclomiphene, a metabolite of clomiphene. The December 21, 2016, positive test was a result of prescribed therapeutic clomiphene. Beckwith-Ludlow was under the care of an obstetrician with the intention of starting a family.

On April 10, she announced she is expecting a boy in October. In addition, according to David Woods of the Indy Star, Beckwith-Ludlow has retired from professional track and field to focus on her family and motherhood.