By Nick Butler

Double Olympian Sherone Simpson has proclaimed her innocence after testing positive in 2013 ©McClatchy-Tribune/Getty ImagesJanuary 7 - Jamaican sprinter Sherone Simpson has protested her innocence and claimed she "never intentionally took a banned substance" as she faced the first day of a hearing into the positive test result for stimulant oxilofrine she recorded last year.


The athlete, part of the Jamaican quartet that won a 4x100 metres relay Olympic silver medal at London 2012, was one of five Jamaicans to fail drugs tests in 2013.

When testifying in front of a three-member panel for three hours, she insisted a supplement provided by her Canadian trainer Christopher Xuereb was responsible for the positive test.

The 29-year old added she was not familiar with one of the five supplements given to her by Xuereb, but that nothing on the bottle of Epiphany D1 appeared during her online search of the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) banned list.

But Lester Robinson, a lawyer for the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO), claimed there is no evidence to suggest oxilofrine is contained in Epiphany D1 and that Simpson was negligent not to have consulted a doctor.

Sherone Simpson celebrates her Olympic silver medal from London 2012 with her relay team ©AFP/Getty ImagesSherone Simpson celebrates her Olympic silver medal from London 2012 with her relay team ©AFP/Getty Images



Simpson was one of five Jamaicans to test positive at the National Championships in June, including her training partner former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell, who also returned adverse findings for oxilofrine.

Xuereb has denied that he gave Simpson performance-enhancing drugs - claiming instead that he only purchased major brand vitamins - and insisted in July that "both athletes are clearly looking for a scapegoat".

As a result of the doping problems, WADA in November carried out an emergency audit of Jamaica's anti-doping programme, while there were also claims from former JADCO executive director Renee Anne Shirley that just one out-of-competition test was conducted in the six months leading up to London 2012.

Powell and the pair's agent Paul Doyle are both listed as witnesses in Simpson's case and are also attending the hearing this week.

Powell is expected to face another disciplinary panel on January 14.

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