Cyclist Brandon Cattouse was in hot water a few months ago when his urine sample tested positive for a banned substance known as EPO. The sample was collected after this year's Valentine Classic. Cattouse was suspended by the Cycling Federation on the order of the National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) and the matter went to arbitration under Panama-based attorney Alberto Yelmo Bravo. Well, the result of the case is back and Cattouse is in the clear, so to speak. That's because the doping control officer who administered the test, Dr. Michael Pitts, stored the sample in his refrigerator at home for four days before sending it to the UCLA lab in California. That result, Bravo ruled, goes against international standards for storing such samples. So Cattouse and his attorney Hector Guerra of Marine Parade Chambers take it as full vindication as Brandon maintains that he is drug-free. They held a press conference this afternoon and 7 News was there.
Hector Guerra, Attorney for Brandon Cattouse
"The evidence in this case showed that after having collected my client's urine samples, those samples were taken to the private dwelling of the director of NADO Belize and it was kept there for almost 4 days - unaccounted for without any document to show who had access to those urine samples, where exactly the urine samples were kept. It was a great gripe for us from the very beginning because my client's position was always that he never and I must repeat this over and over because my client's name has been sullied - from the very beginning, this decision is a vindication for Brandon Cattouse. He's a cyclist, an athlete in Belize who follows and abides by all doping rules and regulations. He is a cyclist who takes the sport very seriously and so today is really a celebration for Mr. Cattouse, it's really a vindication."
"What we say is that in order to properly prove that someone has committed a doping allegation then the samples must be properly accounted for and this case show that my client samples were not properly accounted for and as a result he was vindicated. It's a case that says that all sanctions that have been passed on my client must be lifted and so to that I will say that in fact this decision today that we received on Friday is a total and complete vindication of my client."
Brandon Cattouse, Vindicated
"I have no ill feelings towards them."
Reporter
"And you're ready? You've been practicing?"
Brandon Cattouse
"Well I have been practicing but not as I should have been practicing. With the suspension I was very disappointed and I missed a lot of training but I think I will still to the race as a workout to help the team."
Reporter
"Does this mean that your second place for the Valentine's race, that stands?"
Brandon Cattouse
"Yes."
Cattouse was referring to the annual downtown criterion coming up in September. Guerra notes that all previous tests of Cattouse over a career of fifteen years were returned negative for any prohibited substances. He called for an information campaign to inform athletes of what to watch out for to avoid doping allegations and cooperation between public and private sector to fund NADO as an important organization. Standards dictate that the sample should have been stored at an official location for NADO Belize or the Government of Belize to ensure it was properly secured and monitored. However, the arbitrator also found that contrary to the athlete's claims, he was in fact given a fair hearing and there was no bias in the process before it reached arbitration. The decision can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
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