Australian anti-doping authority defends Bolt drug test request

Australia’s anti-doping authority has defended its decision to test Usain Bolt after the former Olympic sprint champion questioned why he had been selected while he is on trial with A-League club Central Coast Mariners.

The eight-time gold medallist reacted with surprise after receiving a notice for a drugs test on Monday, just days after scoring his first goals in a friendly for the club.

In a video posted on Instagram story, Bolt said: “I asked the lady, ‘Why am I getting drug tested when I haven’t signed for a club yet?’ and she said they told her I’m an elite athlete so I have to get tested.”

While Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) refused to discuss Bolt’s case specifically it pointed out the Jamaican fell within their remit.

“ASADA cannot discuss specific testing missions,” said a statement.

“Effective testing programs are critical to protect the integrity of sport and the right of athletes to compete on a level playing field.”

Australia’s national anti-doping scheme applies to any athlete who is competing in a sport which has an anti-doping policy, as Football Federation Australia (FFA) does.

Rule 25 of FFA’s national anti-doping policy 2015 states the policy applies to all participants, including athletes “registered with, compete, train or trial with any club, team, association or league involved in our sport”.

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'}); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Carl Markham, Press Association Sport'); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'b1387993-8571-452a-8724-5fd2e736ce7d'); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world'); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story'); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite'); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football'); ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Australian anti-doping authority defends Bolt drug test request'});