FINA has announced a suspension of USC diver Harrison Jones for one year after he tested postive for Cannabis (better known as Marijuana) at the USA Diving Winter National Championships that took place at the University of Iowa in February. At that meet, he pulled a huge upset and won the men’s 3-meter title. His suspension is retroactive to April 6th, 2011.
Jones is a member of the US National Team, and represented the US at the AT&T USA Diving Grand Prix. At last year’s NCAA Championships, he scored 28 of the Trojans’ 206 points, which tied him with sprinter Vlad Morozov as the team’s leading individual scorer. There’s been no release by USC as to how this suspension will affect Jones’ status for the 2011-2012 college season, though marijuana is also banned by the NCAA. Jones was likely to be a huge part of USC’s push for a top-3 position at NCAA’s, as he was probable to A-final on all three disciplines.
(Update: Jones withdrew from school during the spring semester, shortly after the NCAA season ended, so the suspension won’t matter for his NCAA eligibility unless he intends to transfer elsewhere)
The severity of Jones’ suspension was likely heavily influenced by the fact that it is his second suspension for the same drug. Last year, he was given a reduced 3-month suspension after testing positive for a metabolite of marijuana at the identical meet in 2010. At that time, the suspension was reduced because Jones had completed a USADA anti-doping program.
Jones will return about 3-months prior to the 2012 Olympic Diving Trials that will take place in Seattle from June 18-24, 2012.
To pretend as though Jones is the only Olympic athlete to partake in recreational marijuana use would be naive, but to test positive at the same meet for two consecutive years is unacceptably foolish. While there are plenty of proponents of legalizing marijuana in this country, it’s understandable why WADA and the USADA would still outlaw it. Their Olympic movements are centered around a healthy lifestyle, which any sort of drug use does not fit. Besides that, in a high-pressure sport like diving, marijuana use during a competition could lead to a competitive advantage, making it by definition a “performance-enhancing drug.”
The official FINA Release:
On February 5, 2011, a diver Harrison Jones (USA) was tested positive to the substance Cannabis (Class S8 Cannabinoids) following a doping control test conducted with the occasion of the USA Diving Winter National Championships in Iowa City, Iowa.The USA Diving imposed a sanction of 1 year ineligibility on the athlete which began on April 6, 2011, the day of the provisional suspension.
what goes through these athletes minds? Do they just “roll the dice” and hope they aren’t tested, or hope that they try the “30-day-without” method? I had heard that he had left school-anybody know the reason?
i know that is a big loss for Salo.