The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) has put down a 4-year ban on American David McKienzie after finding two prohibited substances in a drug test during the Australian Beach Volleyball Tour Finals in Sydney.
The sample from McKienzie was collected on March 26, 2017, and was found to have the presence of Clenbuterol and Ephedrine.
Clenbuterol is banned under S1 class of Anabolic Agents and is a non-specified substance banned both in an out of competition. In Australia, it is not approved for human use with known side effects including headaches, hypotension, anxiety, tremors, insomnia, nausea and heart palpitations. It is a bronchodilator, which means that it can increase blood flow to the muscles.
Ephedrine is banned under S6 class of Stimulants with similar side effects to Clenbuterol including anxiety, nausea, headaches and heart palpitations. Ephedrine is a threshold substance that is prohibited in competition if the concentration in urine is greater than 10 micrograms per milliliter, which McKienzie exceeded.
McKienzie broke the threshold of Ephedrine and had Clenbuterol in his system to which he officially received a mandatory provisional suspension in June 2017 that would last 4 months. McKienzie, however, breached the terms of his suspension by competing in 4 tournaments in the following months.
The period of ineligibility was not backdated to June because of the breach, resulting in the ban being put into place on December 8, 2017. McKienzie will not be able to participate in any sport from a country that has adopted the World Anti-Doping Code until December 8, 2021.
McKienzie has been a long-time member of the USA National Team, first competing and winning the 2001 World University Games. He was also an alternate at the 2004 Olympic Games and played with the team at the 2012 London Olympic Games where Team USA placed 5th. Since then, McKienzie has been a fixture on the beach, competing internationally and on the AVP Tour.
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