Jamie ‘The Hurricane’ Herrington
Amateur fighter suspended four years; cannot compete until 2019
Amateur fighter suspended four years; cannot compete until 2019
It has been more than a year since her violation but now undefeated amateur featherweight Jamie ‘The Hurricane’ Herrington (7-0) has been stripped of her 2015 world title by the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation and will not be able to compete for another three years.
From mixedmartialarts.com
An independent tribunal appointed by the IMMAF determined that Herrington committed an anti-doping rule violation at the IMMAF World Championships in July of 2015 in Las Vegas. In addition to being stripped of her medal, Herrington has been banned from competition for four years. ***One of those years has already been served.
Herrington was subject to a post-fight drug test, which was submitted to the World Anti-Doping Agency laboratory at UCLA. Both the A and B samples showed a positive result for amphetamines. The independent tribunal considered the fighter’s explanation for how the substance came to be present in her system, evidence of intention, and her degree of responsibility.
No reductions were found to be applicable, and the full four-year suspension was given. Herrington waived her right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Herrington was not subject to an order for costs.
The decision can be read here.
The Fort St. John, British Columbia native proclaimed her innocence in an interview with energeticcity.ca.
Herrington stated that she took Nyquil the night before her title fight, as she was not feeling well. She says that the pseudoephedrine that is present in Nyquil and acts as a decongestant is also a stimulant. According to her, the pseudoephedrine caused the false positive result for amphetamine in both of her results.
“The people who know me and the friends and family that are close to me know that I am not involved in drugs or alcohol. That’s what I have to go on at the end of the day,” said Herrington.
She added that she feels that the four-year suspension was also exceptionally harsh, pointing out to the suspensions handed out to several high-profile UFC fighters for using banned substances were all less than hers.
Herrington will be eligible to fight on September 3, 2019.
