USADA announced today that Janel Tisinger-Ledkins, of Clearfield, Utah, an athlete in the sport of racquetball, has accepted a 16-month sanction for an anti-doping rule violation. Tisinger-Ledkins, 36, tested positive for octopamine sulfate, a metabolite of octopamine, as the result of an in-competition urine sample she provided at the National Doubles Championship on February 9, 2019. Octopamine is a Specified Substance in the class of Stimulants and prohibited in-competition under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing, the United States Olympic Committee National Anti-Doping Policies, and the International Racquetball Federation Anti-Doping Policy, all of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.

Following an investigation into the circumstances of Tisinger-Ledkins’ case, USADA concluded that her positive test was caused by her use of a dietary supplement that listed a prohibited substance on the label. The product has since been added to the High Risk List maintained on USADA’s online dietary supplement safety education and awareness resource – Supplement 411 (www.supplement411.org). Athletes and other sport stakeholders are reminded that dietary supplements sold in the U.S. do not receive any pre-market safety or efficacy reviews by government authorities, thus an increased level of due diligence is necessary to challenge the reasons for use and understand the risks of a positive anti-doping test and/or an adverse health event.

USADA determined that a reduced sanction was appropriate due to Tisinger-Ledkins’ cooperation throughout the results management process and forthright declaration of the supplement on her doping control form. Tisinger-Ledkins’ 16-month period of ineligibility began on February 9, 2019, the date her positive sample was collected. In addition, Tisinger-Ledkins has been disqualified from competitive results obtained on and subsequent to February 9, 2019, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.

• This media release was published by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on 2 May 2019. Click here for the original.