Roderick Townsend, a 3x Paralympic champion has received relieving news following his doping fiasco. After getting the shock of his life in November 2023, when reports indicated that he was taking Capromorelin, this story of mistaken identity might have signaled his inevitable demise if it weren’t vetoed properly. Fortunately for the American, he has recently been cleared of all the charges. Now, Townsend can happily continue his preparations to appear in the 2024 Paris Paralympics, in quest for his fourth championship. However, questions might arise as to how did he get cleared after testing positive with a prohibited substance? 

Well, in the most unexpected turn of events, it appears that the Paralympic athlete mixed up medication with his pet canine. So how did all the chaos take place? On the surface it seems to be a simple and honest mistake but there’s more to the story than meets the eye.

Demised dog saves the day for Roderick Townsend

Capromorelin, when injected into the body, secretes a spurt of growth hormone identical to the body’s response to puberty. Thus, quite understandably, the substance was on the prohibited list of the World Anti-Doping list. However, investigating officers from USADA found out that Townsend was not at fault and the substance had entered his system via a syringe that he used on his demised dog. 

Townsend’s pet dog was unwell since time immemorial. Thus, the athlete gave him regular doses of medication to maintain its bodyweight. In the most unexpected of circumstances, Townsend used the very same syringe to orally consume a Vitamin D supplement that was prescribed to him by his nutritional expert. As soon as the findings came to light, USADA cleared the athlete from all the charges, much to the ecstasy of Townsend. 

The 31-year-old has already proved his mettle on the big stage by clinching T47 golds in high and long jump in the 2016 Rio event. He further earned himself a high jump gold at the 2020 Tokyo. With all the charges dropped, he will definitely aim to push for a fourth in the upcoming event taking place in Paris from August 28 to September 8. 

USADA too, gave an official statement clarifying the entire fiasco while giving Townsend a clean chit. 

USADA cares about the integrity of the athletes

While the responsibility of dealing with any wrongdoings strictly is vested upon USADA, they are also responsible for the protection of innocent athletes. Making an official announcement, USADA clarified the surrounding clouds over Townsend. The statement said, “Townsend, through no fault of his own, inadvertently ingested capromorelin residue that was present in the syringe. Administration data from a peer-reviewed published study confirms that exceedingly small amounts of orally-ingested capromorelin can cause a positive test consistent with the miniscule levels detected in Townsend’s sample.” 

Read More: “I Don’t Feel Fear, Why Should I?” – After a Doping Ban Renowned Cyclist Toon to Make Return in the Midst of an ‘Unfair Trial

Travis Tygart, the chief executive of USADA stated that the organization is committed to protect the integrity of innocent athletes while aptly penalizing the wrong doers. He also encouraged more such public statements in cases where an athlete was found innocent to stop the athlete from getting harassed in public. 

What are your views on the story? Do let us know in the comments below. 

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