Montsho verdict out next week

Mqondisi Dube | Friday December 5, 2014 22:13

 

A source said the case is expected to be finalised mid next week with the verdict out before Friday.

The athlete faces between six months and two years on the sidelines.

“The case is almost done and the athlete will know her fate before the end of next week,” said the source.

The BAA is handling the case after Montsho accepted the positive doping results.

Montsho tested positive for a banned stimulant methylhexaneamine after the 400m finals at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in July.

The athlete requested for a B sample which also came out positive.

She was provisionally suspended and her race results, in which she finished fourth, nullified.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) initially handled the matter and after Montsho accepted the findings, it was forwarded to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which referred it to the Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) for appropriate sanction.

The CGF had found Montsho guilty of violating the anti-doping code. 

The source said while the athlete will get a sanction, they are at a stage where those involved are trying to soften the blow.

“They are mitigating so that the sentence is lenient.

But of course it has to be in line with what the IAAF expects,” the source said.  Montsho has not publicly commented about the issue since the doping news broke out while she was still in Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games.

But the source said the athlete was coping well and has already undergone counselling. 

BAA spokesperson, Ipolokeng Ramatshaba previously said the association would brief the media once the case is concluded.

Montsho has had a sparkling career which has seen her win gold at the 2010 400m Commonwealth Games champion before she was crowned the world best 400m runner in 2011.

However, despite a glittering trophy cabinet, a medal at the Olympic Games has proved elusive.

The outcome of her doping case will be crucial to her 2016 Rio Olympic Games dream.  Montsho at 31 is at the twilight of her career, with a lengthy ban likely to bring a mature end to her career.