By Simon Hart Source: www.telegraph.co.uk 

Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bjorn Basson join a growing list of athletes to have tested positive for methylhexaneamine in recent months – a minor stimulant that has become an increasingly common ingredient of nutritional supplements.

Failed drug tests for the substance have become so prevalent that last month UK Anti-Doping took the unprecedented step of issuing a warning to British athletes to be extra-vigilant when it comes to taking supplements.

Methylhexaneamine first came to global attention last year when five Jamaican athletes tested positive for the substance. The stimulant was traced to a supplement being distributed during the Jamaican Championships and the five were subsequently banned for three months.

During last month’s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, Nigerian sprinter Damola Osayemi was stripped of her gold medal after the stimulant was detected in her urine sample.

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Australian anti-doping officials announced several weeks ago that nine Australian athletes were facing sanctions after testing positive for the same substance.


This year, shot putter Rachel Wallader became the first British athlete to be disciplined for taking the drug. The Geoff Capes-coached athlete, who said she took a supplement that she was convinced was legal, received a one-year ban, reduced to four months on appeal.
UKAD has confirmed that two other unnamed British athletes have tested positive for the substance.

The stimulant was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency banned list after the Jamaican cases but was downgraded on this year’s list to the less serious category of ‘specified stimulant’ to reflect the high number of inadvertent positive tests. Violations typically carry a three-month suspension.

One of the dangers facing athletes in choosing nutritional supplements is that methylhexaneamine can often appear in the list of ingredients under a different name. In Wallader’s case, it was listed as “1,3-dimethylamylamine”.

Under Wada’s strict liability rule, however, ignorance of the ingredients is no defence against a positive drug test.

Andy Parkinson, the UKAD chief executive, said: “There is no guarantee that any supplement is free from a prohibited substance. Athletes are ultimately responsible for anything found in their system, no matter how it gets there.”