American swimmer Michael Brinegar, who competed in the 800 and 1,500 meters at the Tokyo Olympics, has been given a four-year ban for blood doping, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said on Monday.
Brinegar, the son of Jennifer Hooker Brinegar who competed for the US at the 1976 Olympics, was charged with a doping violation after USADA said highly abnormal blood values in its biological passport for athletes from July to September 2022 were identified as caused by blood doping .
An independent referee later ruled that Brinegar had not committed a foul, paving the way for the 24-year-old to compete in last week’s Olympic trials in Indianapolis, where he swam in the 400 and 800 freestyle heats.
USADA appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and a three-judge panel sided with the anti-doping agency, handing Brinegar a four-year ban that excluded him from the final event of the trials on Sunday, the 1,500 men free. . Brinegar denies having committed any doping violations.
“As an Olympian and the son of an Olympic swimmer whose U.S. women’s team faced an East German team that systematically doped, cheating is a betrayal of everything I was taught and what I stand for,” Brinegar posted on Instagram.
“I am deeply disappointed by the ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and USADA’s allegations, which are completely unfounded.”
