By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has released the operative award–a document that contains only the three-arbitrator panel’s ruling–officially handing down Tokyo Olympian Michael Brinegar‘s four year suspension for blood doping. The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) published the award, noting that the reasoned decision is still forthcoming.
CAS chose to issue the operative award in advance of the reasoned decision to “ensure resolution in advance of team selection decisions related to the upcoming Paris Olympic Games,” per the USADA’s announcement of its release.
The court’s ruling was first announced during the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials with less than 24 hours to go until the 1500 freestyle, Brinegar’s final event of the meet. He had already taken part in the 400 freestyle (17th, 3:51.33) and the 800 freestyle (12th, 8:00.15). The ruling meant he had to scratch his remaining event.
CAS’s verdict overturned the December 2023 ruling by an independent arbitrator that Brinegar did not violate anti-doping rules and instead finds that Brinegar violated Article 2.2 of the World Anti-Doping Code. The decision handed Brinegar a four year suspension that officially began June 21, 2024, the date CAS first released their decision.
World Anti-Doping Code, Article 2.2:
Article 2.2 Use or Attempted Use by an Athlete of a Prohibited Substance or a Prohibited Method
2.2.1 It is the Athlete’s personal duty to ensure that no Prohibited Substance enters their bodies and that no Prohibited Method is Used. Accordingly, it is not necessary that intent, Fault, Negligence or knowing Use on the Athlete’s part be demonstrated in order to establish an anti-doping rule violation for Use of a Prohibited Substance or a Prohibited Method
2.2.2 The success or failure of the Use of Attempted Use of a Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method is not material. It is sufficient that the Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method was Used or Attempted to be Used for an anti-doping rule violation to be committed.
Though the official suspension began last week, USADA said in their statement that Brinegar will receive credit for the period he was provisionally suspended (August 18, 2023 to November 27, 2023). All of Brinegar’s results from July 20, 2022 through December 31, 2022 are disqualified.
This process began on June 26, 2023, the day before 2023 U.S. Nationals, which is when Brinegar said in a statement that the USADA notified him via email they were opening a case against him because there were abnormalities in his Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) that resulted in an Adverse Passport Finding. This is different than testing positive for a banned substance.
The USADA was referring to test results from July, August, and September 2022–after the 2022 World Championships. Brinegar was originally entered in Worlds that year, but withdrew after contracting COVID-19.
In their statement on June 21, 2024, the USADA said they were concerned with “three samples collected from Brinegar between July 20, 2022 and September 27, 2022 showed values consistent with blood doping, specifically the use of ESAs, as confirmed by unanimous expert evaluation of Brinegar’s blood profile in early 2023.”
Brinegar says that tests came during “a period I was not training.” He told SwimSwam that “the alleged abnormalities in my blood values can be explained by non-doping factors such as recovery from COVID-19, hydration status, training and detraining periods, and improper handling of samples.”
The effect of COVID-19 on Brinegar’s blood samples is one of the key points of contention between he and the USADA. Brinegar asserts that “USADA dismisses the possibility that I developed anemia after contracting COVID-19 simply
because they didn’t take any blood samples during the relevant time period.”
Brinegar told SwimSwam he remains “committed to proving [his] innocence.”
SwimSwam: CAS Releases Operative Award Ruling On Michael Brinegar’s Four Year Doping Suspension
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