CANBERRA, Australia -- An Australian cyclist has been banned from competition for two years in a Court of Arbitration for Sports decision hailed by anti-doping authorities as another breakthrough in the fight against drug cheats.
Andrew Wyper, who competed for Australia in the World Road Championships and World Junior Track Championships in 2003, did not fail a doping test but was suspended for ordering prohibited substances -- including Erythropoietin (EPO) and human growth hormone -- over the Internet.
He was convicted and fined in an Australian criminal court in November 2006 after an investigation by Australian Customs, which intercepted Wyper's attempt to import the performance-enhancing substances from Indonesia in October 2005.
The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency on Tuesday commended a recent CAS judgment that Wyper was guilty of a doping violation simply by placing the order for the drugs, arranging for its delivery and paying for it.
"There is no reason to require as a prerequisite that Wyper must have obtained possession of the substances before he could take a substantial step in a course of conduct planned to culminate in the commission of an anti-doping rule violation," the judgment said.
ASADA chairman Richard Ings said Wyper would be ineligible to compete until Feb. 7, 2010, and that all his results dating from Oct. 18, 2005, would be invalidated.
Ings said the ruling was significant for two key reasons.
"It demonstrates that the partnership between Australian Customs and ASADA is effective in detecting serious anti-doping rule violations," Ings said in a statement. "Secondly, this case highlights that athletes who purchase prohibited substances via the internet may face serious consequences under anti-doping rules and Australian law."
