FINA To Hear Gary Hall Case Friday
FINA’s doping panel will hear the case against American sprint star, Gary Hall, Jr., 24, on Friday, November 6. Hall tested positive for marijuana, a non-performance-enhancing drug, in out-of-competition testing last May 15. On July 1 he was provisionally suspended from competition by FINA; a month later, FINA lifted the suspension.
Hall will not appear before the doping panel, which is meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, citing a lack of funds. However, if the panel imposes a penalty for the alleged infraction, he intends to appeal to the Court for Arbitration for Sport.
FINA director Cornel Marculescu told Swimming World that FINA regards the positive marijuana test as “a second positive” and will try to impose the maximum penalty. The first positive allegedly occurred at the Olympic Games, where a number of other American athletes also allegedly tested positive for the substance. However, marijuana was not on the banned list at the time.