Bralon Taplin

Taplin, 28, who was seventh in the 400m final in Rio, four years ago, was sanctioned by the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organization in November 2019 for avoiding a drugs test.

The sanction stemmed from an incident at the Grenada Invitational on April 13, 2019, when Taplin won the 400m at the Grenada Invitational.

Following the race, Taplin left the stadium without completing doping control even doping control officers had informed him that he was to undergo a drug test. Reports said he left the island early the following day.

According to a summary released by the CAS, Taplin was notified on August 20, 2019, that he was being charged with intentionally evading sample collection on at the 2019 Grenada Invitational.

Following an investigation, the Caribbean RADO Panel issued its decision on November 8, 2019, in which it found, “to its comfortable satisfaction”, that Taplin sought to evade the chaperone and doping control officers and that he was guilty of the offence of evading sample collection.

He was banned for four years.

However, in his appeal to the CAS, Taplin requested that the decision be set aside and that he be declared immediately eligible to compete on the grounds that he had not been properly notified that he had been selected for the doping control test.

The CAS arbitration was conducted by Canadian The Honourable Hugh L. Fraser, who held the hearing at the offices of the Grenada Olympic Committee on February 27 and 28, 2020.

The sole arbitrator found that Taplin’s evidence that he was never approached, followed, or accompanied by anyone from the Grenada NADO to be implausible.

The arbitrator stated that he was comfortably satisfied that Taplin was guilty of the offence of evading sample collection and confirmed the four-year period of ineligibility, which commenced on September 25, 2019, the date on which the provisional suspension began.

Taplin, now 28, was handed a four-year ban last year after being charged with intentionally evading sample collection, following his 400m victory at the 2019 Grenada Invitational Athletics Competition.  The athlete was found to have left the stadium without completing doping control.  Taplin appealed the decision, but it was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) earlier this year.

The athlete will, however, also now serve a sequential three-years on that sentence, this time for doping whereabouts violations that occurred in 2019.  According to a release issued by the AIU, Taplin was found to have missed tests on the 21^st April, August 28th, and 25^th of November. Based on the rules, any combination of three missed
tests and/or filing failures within any twelve-month period is considered a violation.   The Grenada Invitational Athletics concluded on the 13^th of April.  On each of the occasions, the report claims a tester showed up at Taplin’s residence in Bryan, Texas, USA, and knocked for an hour before leaving having not received a response. 

Taplin, through an attorney, later contested the November 25^th missed test after pointing out that he had been required to appear in court at the time of the stated test and did not think there was time to adjust the whereabouts form.  After convening a tribunal, the AIU, however, later rejected the explanation provided by the athlete as insufficient.  The new three-year ban will take effect once the athlete has concluded the four-year period of ineligibility.

Taplin, who has a PB of 44.38, finished 7th in the 400m at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.