Jamaica Sprinter Simpson Faces Disciplinary Panel

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) – A disciplinary panel of Jamaica’s anti-doping agency has started at least two days of hearings into a positive test for a banned substance by sprinter Sherone Simpson. Testifying Tuesday before a three-member panel of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission, Simpson insisted Tuesday she was “no cheat.”

The Olympic 400 relay gold and silver medalist, along with former 100-meter world-record holder Asafa Powell, tested positive for the stimulant oxilofrone at the national championships in June. Simpson says she believes a supplement provided by newly-hired trainer Christopher Xuereb was responsible for her positive test. She says she researched the “Epiphany D1” supplement for hours online before taking it and “nothing I read raised a red flag or an alarm bell.” But a lawyer for Jamaica’s anti-doping agency contends that Simpson was “significantly negligent.”