I’ve been accused of doping, but I’m innocent, says Irish athlete

Irish sprinter Steven Colvert has been forced to withdraw from the European Team Championships in Tallinn, Estonia this weekend due to an adverse finding for EPO in an out of competition test on May 20.

Colvert was set to compete in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay but his ‘A’ sample was found to have an “adverse analytical finding” for the substance “recombinant erythropoietin” more commonly known as EPO and typically used by distance runners as a performance enhancing drug.

The Crusaders athlete narrowly missed out on the London 2012 Olympics in the 200m by two hundredths of a second, running 20.57 seconds – just shy of the 20.55 required. He is adamant he has never taken the substance or any other performance-enhancing drug. Colvert, a third year law student in DCU, is now looking to get his ‘B’ sample tested to clear his name and find out what led to the positive test.