Elana fights to clear her name

Elana Meyer might have to indirectly rely on the world's foremost anti-doping authority to clear her drug-tainted name.

Meyer, the world half-marathon and 15 kilometre record holder, is adamant she is innocent of a doping offence despite testing positive recently for abnormally high levels of caffeine.

On Tuesday, Athletics South Africa (ASA) disclosed that it had received the result of Meyer's B sample that had, as expected, confirmed the presence of the illegal substance.

Meyer tested positive after finishing third in a 10km road race in Bali, Indonesia, on February 2.

Stellenbosch star Meyer and her husband/manager Michael engaged the services of Dr Ryan Kohler of the SA Sports Science Institute to carry out tests to determine how excessive amounts of caffeine came to be in the athlete's system.

Kohler said on Tuesday he was "still in limbo", awaiting the results of the tests.

But Meyer will need some kind of evidence with which to defend herself in a disciplinary tribunal at ASA's offices in Johannesburg on June 12, otherwise her doping offence will be confirmed.

At this point, the 36-year-old is suspended from all athletics activities, but is presumed innocent. If found guilty by the tribunal of abusing a stimulant, she will receive a public warning as a first offender and forfeit any prize money she earned from the Bali event.

It will, however, still constitute a doping offence, which means that Meyer's dream of competing in a fourth successive Olympics in Athens next year will be dashed. The National Olympic Committee does not consider doping offenders for selection.

But, according to Chris Hattingh, ASA's doping commission chairman, Meyer could have an ally in the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).

"There is vigorous debate in the international doping world about whether caffeine should remain on the banned list or not, and there is a strong case for it not to be," he disclosed.

A Wada commission had discovered that caffeine levels below the legal threshold had more effect on performance, and that levels above the threshold could be to an athlete's detriment, he said.

Meanwhile, Michael Meyer said on Tuesday he would be pushing ASA for an earlier hearing date, "because Elana is adamant she has done nothing wrong and wants this thing over as quickly as possible".