Jeanson speaks out over possible drug suspension

Canadian cyclist Genevieve Jeanson broke down during a Thursday media conference, telling reporters that she did not intentionally miss a drug test.

Jeanson, who still needs to qualify for the Athens Olympics, faces a lengthy suspension after failing to appear for an April 21 drug test following a competition in Belgium.

"I have never refused to undergo a test," said the 22-year-old Lachine, Que., native.

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Jeanson claimed she didn't show up for the test because she already had blood and urine tests before the race, one of which indicated she had an elevated red-blood cell count.

She also revealed that she took a subsequent test before the Belgian race, which found her red-blood cell count to be normal.

Jeanson admitted she was overwhelmed by what had happened with her tests before the race and, as a result, missed being tested after the race.

"With everything that had happened in the morning it was too much," she said. "I thought I was finished."

"I thought my life was over. I didn't understand. I passed a test a few days earlier.

"I didn't know what was going on. I found that hard. I was sure I was finished."

After the race, Jeanson said she and her teammates stayed around the finish line for five or six hours talking to people and she just didn't think about going for the drug test.

"It was forgotten about, and it was my fault. It's a no-no to say but I just didn't go."

Jeanson risks a one- to six-month suspension that could prevent her from participating at the Olympics and world championships this fall. Another possibility is she might receive a warning.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has given Jeanson until June 4 to explain what happened. She could learn her fate between June 5 and 10.

Until the USADA ruling, Jeanson will continue her bid to qualify for the Athens Games that run Aug. 13-29. She will need to finish in the top eight in a race this Saturday in Montreal.

"When I get that maybe then I will think of the Olympics," said Jeanson.

Jeanson finished 30th in the Belgian competition that preceded the drug test.

Ranked 16th in the world, Jeanson said she has been on the anti-doping testing list since being tossed out of the world road cycling championships in Hamilton on Oct. 11, 2003, when blood samples taken hours before the women's road race showed a red blood cell count above the limit allowed by the International Cycling Union.

A urine sample taken the same day from Jeanson was flown to a lab in Lausanne, Switzerland, to be tested for EPO, or erythropoetin. Those tests showed no trace of a performance-enhancing substance.

In its pure form, EPO is a hormone produced by the kidneys when oxygen supply is low. Synthetic EPO was developed by drug companies to help patients experiencing kidney failure or taking chemotherapy but some cheaters among world-class athletes have used it as a stamina booster.

The USADA is involved because USA Cycling licenses Jeanson. In Canada, cyclists have to be licensed by their provincial governing body but Quebec officials refused to issue the licence for Jeanson because they wanted more answers from her in the wake of being excluded from the world event in Hamilton.

"Genevieve felt that she had answered all the questions that were necessary and still wasn't getting any movement with the Quebec Cycling Association and as such she began to explore other opportunities for her to obtain a license for this season," Sean O'Donnell, high performance co-ordinator with the Canadian Cycling Association, explained Wednesday.

"She went and contacted USA Cycling and they, well within their power, issued her a licence for this year."

with files from CP Online