Michael Brinegar received 4-year doping suspension, leading to 1500 free scratches during testing

tokyo olympian Michael Brinegar The men’s 1500 meter freestyle heats were eliminated on the final day of prelims at the 2024 US Olympic Trials after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on blood doping charges. . Over a period of three months in 2022. This means Brinegar faces a four-year ban.

USADA claims Brinegar, now 24, was doped based on test results from June, July and August 2022 following the 2022 World Championships, which exceeded the benchmark for erythropoietin (EPO).

Brinegar was originally scheduled to compete at those Worlds, but withdrew after contracting COVID-19 and said the tests “came during a period when I wasn’t training.” Was taking.”

In the same statement, Brinegar says he was made aware of the allegations via email from USADA “24 hours before (he) was scheduled to swim the 1500 on the first day of the international team trials in Indianapolis a year ago at the 2023 U.S. citizen.

This means that on June 26, Brinegar would have received an email informing him that there were abnormalities in his Athlete Biological Passport that resulted in an adverse passport search. USADA considers an adverse passport finding as sufficient information to open a case against an athlete.

That period is three months before Brinegar begins training at Ohio State in October 2022. Since then, Brinegar has gone on to train on the swim team. mark shubert, with whom he has trained from time to time for the last nine years. Brinegar officially rejoined TST after the 2023 US Nationals.

Brinegar shared that he was told by USADA that if he contested the finding, he would face a four-year ban, which would be reduced to two years if he did not contest. He says he was also told that “if I involved someone else, my sentence could be reduced by another year.”

“I was devastated. But knowing I had not cheated, I decided to fight,” he said.

An independent arbitrator ruled in Brinegar’s favor in November 2023 but USADA appealed the decision to CAS. CAS’s decision to uphold USADA’s original findings came yesterday, June 22, the day before Brinegar was scheduled to race the 1500 freestyle in Indianapolis.

UPDATE: If an athlete decides to challenge USADA’s finding, the first step in the process is an independent arbitrator. In this case, the arbitrator ruled in Brinegar’s favor in early December 2023, making him eligible to race in the Portugal Open Water World Cup that month.

Schubert told SwimSwam,

“As Michael Brinegar’s coach for the past nine years, I fully support his innocence. It makes no sense that an athlete would do blood doping during an eight-week break (not training) while recovering from Covid. This is the period when he was tested. Also, I’m shocked that USADA would offer to reduce his sentence to two years if he doesn’t fight the suspension. Why would an innocent athlete agree to that proposal?” He also offered a further reduction in his fine if he included athletes he knew were cheating. Why would an innocent athlete agree to these offers? I support Michael and the Brinegar family in their fight against USADA and these unfair charges.

Brinegar had earlier finished 17th in the prelims of the 400 freestyle (3:51.53) and 12th in the prelims of the 800 freestyle (8:00.15) at the trials. He was seeded third in the 1500 freestyle.

Below is Brinegar’s full statement as well as what he shared on Instagram.

Full statement from Michael Brinegar:

“As an Olympian and the son of an Olympic swimmer whose U.S. women’s team faced an East German team that was systematically doping, cheating is a betrayal of everything I have been taught and For whom I stand. I am deeply disappointed by the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and USADA’s allegations, which are completely baseless.

Almost exactly a year ago, 24 hours before I was scheduled to swim the 1500 on the first day of the International Team Trials in Indianapolis, I received an email from USADA. In the email, USADA claimed that test results from July, August and September 2022 are proof that I had blood doped. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. If I contested the findings, I would be banned for 4 years, or if I did not contest the findings, the ban would be reduced to two years. Plus, if I involve someone else, my sentence could be reduced by an additional year. I was devastated. But knowing that I had not betrayed, I chose to fight.

Despite always testing negative for any banned substances, USADA suggests that I had blood doping when I was not training and while I was recovering from COVID-19. I was preparing to compete in my first 25K at the World Championships in Budapest in late June, but I withdrew from Worlds due to contracting COVID. Given that I was already missing the biggest meet of the year, it is absurd to suggest that I would engage in blood doping later in the year while taking my first extended break from training in years.

I have never taken any banned substance and my commitment to competing on a fair and level playing field is unwavering. After an independent arbitrator initially ruled in my favor at the end of November 2023, I turned my attention to achieving my dream of representing my country again at the Paris Olympics. In early January, I received notice that USADA was appealing the arbitrator’s decision in my favor and would have to prove my innocence once again. I tried to refocus and started training for pool events and was looking forward to competing in the 1500 in my home state.

Once again, almost a year later, 24 hours before I swam the 1500 at prelims, I received an email yesterday saying CAS had decided in USADA’s favor. I am disappointed that I cannot compete today due to a CAS decision based on flawed assumptions and a misinterpretation of the facts.

I will continue to seek justice in this case and thank everyone for their support and understanding during this challenging time.