US Swimmer Emily Brunemann Tests Positive

Emily Brunemann

American swimmer Emily Brunemann has been slapped with a six-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance, the United States Anti-doping Agency announced Wednesday.

January 29, 2009

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (AFP) — American swimmer Emily Brunemann has been slapped with a six-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance, the United States Anti-doping Agency announced Wednesday.

The 22-year-old Brunemann, a four-time NCAA All-American, was caught using banned drugs hydrochlorothiazide and triamterene. The two are considered masking agents and are listed on the World Anti-doping Agency Prohibited List.

"Following a detailed evidentary hearing, the panel confirmed that Brunemann committed a doping violation and found that she failed to take appropriate steps to avoid ingesting a prohibited substance," USADA said in a news release. Brunemann's suspension is retroactive to September 26.

Brunemann's lawyer, Howard Jacobs, said his client tested positive after taking what she thought was a laxative.

"Emily Brunemann accepted responsibility for her one-time mistake in taking what she thought at the time was a laxative but that turned out to be a banned diuretic," said Jacobs, who was also the lawyer for disgraced former American sprinter Tim Montgomery.

Brunemann denied knowingly taking a banned drug and said she plans to continue swimming for her US college team, the University of Michigan.

"I look forward to finishing my collegiate swimming career and proving my first place finishes at the 2008 NCAA Championship and the 2008 US National Championships were based on my hard work and dedication," she was reported saying in Swimming World Magazine.

Source:  Google AFP