Guyana closer to becoming Anti-Doping compliant – Jones

In a recent interview, the Director of Sport Christopher Jones revealed that Guyana is on stream as it relates to anti-doping measures.
The Director pointed out that the National Sports Commission has already earmarked a representative who will be ensuring that local athletes participating in events do so without the use of illegal performance-enhancing substances.

However, it was pointed out by Jones that due to the sensitive nature of the work being carried out, the identity of the representative cannot be made public.
Nevertheless, Jones maintained that the individual has been effectively conducting their duties throughout 2017. “Our representative I know, when they hosted international or regional activities here in Guyana, that individual would have been engaged and… along with others would have conducted tests, random tests on athletes at those events that were hosted in 2017. So, as it stands with anti-doping, I can say that Guyana is where it ought to be in terms of having a representative and paying subscription fees to both the regional and international body,” Jones explained.
Additionally, it was also disclosed that some athletes were caught in the act of cheating. However, Jones explained that the names of those athletes cannot be made public at the moment. “I cannot disclose that because even if there was seemingly a violation, after the due process, a pronouncement is made, so only until after a pronouncement is made on penalizing an athlete, then that information will be made public.”
Jones said that it must be made clear that the work of the representative and his/her team entails conducting tests on random athletes, in any sporting event, at any given time to ensure that there is a level playing field. In 2018, the responsibilities of the representative and team are expected to expand.